Typically people with ARDS need to be in an intensive care unit (ICU).
The goal of treatment is to provide breathing support and treat the underlying cause of ARDS. This may involve medications to treat infections, reduce inflammation, and remove fluid from the lungs.
A breathing machine is used to deliver high doses of oxygen and a continuous level of pressure called PEEP (positive end-expiratory pressure) to the damaged lungs. Patients often need to be deeply sedated with medications when using this equipment.
Treatment continues until you are well enough to breathe on your own.
SOURCE: MedlinePlus: ARDS
ARDS Facts
ARDS, or acute respiratory distress syndrome, is a lung condition that leads to low
oxygen levels in the blood. ARDS can be life threatening. This is because your body's organs, such as the kidneys and brain, need oxygen-rich blood to work properly.
Most people who develop ARDS are in the hospital for other serious health problems. Rarely, people who aren't hospitalized have health problems that lead to ARDS, such as severe pneumonia. If you have trouble breathing, call your doctor right away. If you have severe shortness of breath, call 9–1–1.
In ARDS, infections, injuries, or other conditions cause the lung's tiny blood vessels to leak more fluid than normal into the lungs' air sacs. This prevents the lungs from filling with air and moving enough oxygen into the bloodstream.
Some common conditions and factors that can lead to ARDS are sepsis, pneumonia, severe bleeding caused by an injury, an injury to the chest or head, breathing in harmful fumes or smoke, and inhaling vomited stomach contents from the mouth.
People at risk for ARDS have a condition or illness that can directly or indirectly injure their lungs.
The first signs and symptoms of ARDS are feeling like you can't get enough air into your lungs, rapid breathing, and low oxygen levels in the blood. Other signs and symptoms depend on the cause of the condition. They may occur before ARDS develops.
Your doctor will diagnose ARDS based on your medical history, a physical exam, and the results from tests.
ARDS is treated with oxygen therapy, fluids, and medicines. Treatments are done in a hospital's intensive care unit. Patients who have ARDS may develop other medical problems while in the hospital. The most common problems are infections, pneumothorax (collapsed lung), lung scarring, and blood clots.
Some people fully recover from ARDS. Others continue to have health problems. These problems may include shortness of breath, tiredness and muscle weakness, depression, and problems with memory and thinking clearly.
You can take steps to recover from ARDS and improve your quality of life. Ask your family and friends to help with everyday activities. Don't smoke and avoid secondhand smoke and other lung irritants, such as harmful fumes. Go to pulmonary rehabilitation if you doctor recommends it. Join a support group for ARDS. Seek help from your health care team if you feel depressed.
ARDS treatment has improved in recent years. As a result, more people are surviving ARDS. Researchers are studying new treatments for the condition.
Pneumonia is inflammation of one or both lungs with consolidation. Pneumonia is frequently but not always due to infection. The infection may be bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic. Symptoms may include fever, chills, cough with sputum production, chest pain, and shortness of breath.
Drug addiction is a chronic disease that causes drug-seeking behavior and drug use despite negative consequences to the user and those around him. Though the initial decision to use drugs is voluntary, changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person's self-control and ability to make the right decisions and increase the urge to take drugs. Drug abuse and addiction are preventable.
Pulmonary edema (swelling or fluid in the lungs) can either be caused by cardiogenic causes (congestive heart failure, heart attacks, abnormal heart valves) or noncardiogenic causes such as ARDS, kidney failure, high altitude, pneumothorax, pleural effusion, aspirin overdose, pulmonary embolism, and infections. The treatment of pulmonary edema depends on the cause of the condition.
Coma is the inability to waken or react to the surrounding environment. The Glasgow Coma Scale is frequently used to measure the depth of coma. Causes of coma include trauma, bleeding, edema, lack of oxygen, poisoning, or hypoglycemia. Prognosis for a patient in a coma depends on the cause of the coma.
ICU psychosis is a disorder (also a form of delirium or acute brain failure) in which patients in an intensive care unit or a similar setting experience a cluster of serious psychiatric symptoms. These symptoms include anxiety, reastlessness, hearing voices, hallucinations, nightmares, paranoia and more. Causes of ICU psychosis are generally from a combination of environmental and medical conditions.
Drowning is a common cause of death and disability worldwide. In the US, it is the third most common cause of accidental death. Brain damage, pneumonia, ARDS, hypothermia, and spine fractures are complications of drowning. At times, there are discussions of wet vs. dry, or salt vs. fresh water drownings. Children and young adults are at most risk for drowning accidents. Medical emergencies in the water may lead to drowning (such as seizures, hypoglycemia, sudden cardiac death, or heart attack). Treatment of a drowning victim depends up on the severity of the injury. Prevention is the key to prevent drowning.
Legionellosis is an infection caused by the Legionella pneumophila bacterium. There are two forms of legionellosis: Pontiac fever and Legionnaires' disease, which is the more severe of the two infections. Symptoms of Pontiac fever include fever, headache, muscle aches, and chills. Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease include cough, chills, fever and sometimes muscle aches, headaches, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and severe pneumonia. While Pontiac fever resolves on its own, Legionnaires' disease must be treated with antibiotics.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV. Symptoms include fever and shortness of breath. Patients with SARS often require oxygen and severe cases require mechanical ventilation.
SARS is a contagious respiratory disease first identified in
2002.
SARS is caused by a coronavirus (SARS-CoV) that exists in bats and civets
in Southern China.
The infection is spread easily from person to person through
respiratory droplets.
Infected people have symptoms of pneumonia, including
fever and shortness of breath. Diarrhea may also occur.
Severely affected
people experience respiratory failure and may need mechanical ventilation. Older
people, pregnant women, and those with underlying illnesses are at higher risk
for severe disease.
No cases of SARS have been diagnosed since 2004. SARS
should be suspected in people with a compatible illness who work with SARS-CoV
in the laboratory or who have gotten ill after exposure to bats or civets in
Southern China.
If there are grounds for suspicion, respiratory secretions are ...
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