The clinical description that defines acute lung injury (ALI) has been around for more than
50 years. The clinical picture has carried many different definitions, but what was known as …

The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a form of severe hypoxemic respiratory
failure that is characterized by inflammatory injury to the alveolar capillary barrier, with …

Pulmonary surfactant is essential for life as it lines the alveoli to lower surface tension,
thereby preventing atelectasis during breathing. Surfactant is enriched with a relatively …

Background Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life‐threatening condition
caused by direct or indirect injury to the lungs. Despite improvements in clinical …

The acute respiratory distress syndrome is a common, devastating clinical syndrome of
acute lung injury that affects both medical and surgical patients. Since the last review of this …

Acute lung injury (ALI) remains a significant source of morbidity and mortality in the critically
ill patient population. Defined by a constellation of clinical criteria (acute onset of bilateral …

Mechanical ventilation has been used to support acutely ill patients for several decades. But
clinicians are aware that, despite the life-saving potential of this assistance, it has several …

Background Most patients requiring mechanical ventilation for acute lung injury and the
acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) receive positive end-expiratory pressure …

Inflammatory response leading to organ dysfunction and failure continues to be the major
problem after injury in many clinical conditions such as sepsis, severe burns, acute …

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is an acute respiratory illness characterised by
bilateral chest radiographical opacities with severe hypoxaemia due to non-cardiogenic …