Laying the Groundwork for Physiology-Guided Precision Medicine in the Critically Ill

Canonical critical care syndromes such as sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) include patients with markedly heterogeneous biology.¹ This, paired with decades of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were traditionally viewed as "negative," has stalled progress in improving patient outcomes.² However, emerging awareness of sub-phenotypes based on differences in biomarker profiles and resulting heterogeneous treatment effects have led to calls for precision medicine in which therapies are targeted to those most likely to benefit.³.