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Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2019; 40(01): 003-011
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1683884
Review Article
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Definitions, Epidemiology, Clinical Risk Factors, and Health Disparities in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Mohleen Kang
1   Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
,
Jordan A. Kempker
1   Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
› Author Affiliations Funding During this work Dr. Kempker received support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [K08HS025240] and the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [L30 HL124529–01].
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Publication History

Publication Date:
06 May 2019 (online)

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Abstract

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a syndrome of inflammatory lung injury currently defined as the rapid onset of hypoxemia and radiographic opacities from a recent direct or indirect insult that is not explained by other causes. While the diagnostic criteria used to define ARDS are helpful in the clinical setting, they are not entirely specific for the characteristic pathophysiology of diffuse alveolar lung damage. This case definition introduces challenges to the reliable and accurate epidemiologic study of the condition. Within these limitations, ARDS appears to be a condition that is relatively rare within the general population but common within the context of the intensive care unit. Furthermore, the frequency and outcomes of ARDS seem to vary between populations, with no clearly discernible temporal trends in incidence or case fatality that are uniform across studies.

Keywords

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome - ARDS - epidemiology - health disparities
 

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