Acute respiratory distress syndrome

Erdoğan Kunter,

Erdoğan Kunter¹, Turgut Işıtmangil²

¹GATA Haydarpaşa Eğitim Hastanesi, Göğüs Hastalıkları ve Tüberküloz Kliniği, İstanbul
²GATA Haydarpaşa Eğitim Hastanesi, Göğüs Cerrahisi Kliniği, İstanbul

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and its less serious form acute lung injury (ALI) have been recognized since 1960s under different names and descriptions. The etiopathogenesis of the syndrome has been studied widely but despite of developments in medicine, treatment choices and the prognosis still need to be improved. Mechanical ventilation is the mainstay of therapeutic interventions and new modes and ventilation strategies seem promising. Unfortunately none of the pharmacological agents available is shown to reduce mortality. However, studies concerning with some certain subgroups of patients show that individualized treatment options, rather than general approach, will result in better outcome.

Keywords : Acute respiratory distress syndrome; acute lung injury; mechanical ventilation; nitric oxide; steroid

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