About this disease
What it concerns
ARDS is associated with acute respiratory distress and usually occurs in critical patients suffering from pre-exisiting conditions, who have, for example a relevant injury or infection. It can develop within hours to days. Mortality from ARDS is high - risk factors include age and severity of underlying disease. With survival, ARDS may recover completely or permanent lung damage may occur. Causes may include infection, (sepsis, severe pneumonia, coronavirus) or injury.
Symptoms and consequences
The leading symptom is severe respiratory distress with increased respiratory rate, use of auxiliary respiratory muscles, and also signs of confusion and anxiety. Depending on the cause, ARDS can vary in severity. Complications include the clumping of blood vessels in the lungs (thrombosis), destruction of normal lung tissue and scarring (fibrosis) with permanent loss of lung function, and damage from mechanical ventilation such as the bursting of alveoli with subsequent collapse of the lung (pneumothorax). Secondary pneumonia may occur as a result of artificial ventilation.
How we can help you
Examination and diagnosis
ARDS is diagnosed on the basis of decreased oxygen saturation in the blood and with imaging (X-ray or computed tomography) of the lungs. ECG and cardiac ultrasound should be used to rule out heart failure, as the symptoms can be very similar, but this requires different treatment. Due to modern treatment with lung-sparing ventilation, more patients survive ARDS. However, long-term consequences may occur, such as significant loss of performance, depression, chronic fatigue and general muscle weakness.
Treatment
The primary goal of therapy is to increase the oxygen content in the blood so that the organs are supplied with oxygen. For this purpose, oxygen must be administered artificially in mild cases. Severe cases require artificial respiration via a ventilator or, in extreme cases, even a heart-lung machine (ECMO) at a major hospital. The affected patients are seriously ill and often suffer complications. In parallel, the cause must be treated in a targeted manner. Often, antibiotics and cortisone must be used the application of a blood thinner to prevent thrombosis.