Acute respiratory distress syndrome

What causes ARDS?

ARDS develops if the lungs become severely inflamed as a result of an infection or injury. The inflammation causes fluid from nearby blood vessels to leak into the tiny air sacs in your lungs, making breathing increasingly difficult.

The lungs may become inflamed following:

pneumoniaor severe flu
blood poisoning ( sepsis )
a severe chest injury
accidental inhalation of vomit, smoke or toxic chemicals
near drowning
acute pancreatitis a serious condition where the pancreas becomes inflamed over a short period of time
an adverse reaction to a blood transfusion

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018

Articles for acute respiratory distress syndrome

Introduction

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening medical condition where the lungs can't provide enough oxygen for the rest of the body.

Medical emergency

Although most cases of ARDS begin in hospital, this isn't always the case. For example, the condition may develop quickly as a result of an infection such as pneumonia , or if someone accidentally inh

What causes ARDS?

ARDS develops if the lungs become severely inflamed as a result of an infection or injury. The inflammation causes fluid from nearby blood vessels to leak into the tiny air sacs in your lungs, making

How ARDS is diagnosed

There's no specific test to diagnose ARDS. A full assessment is needed to identify the underlying cause and rule out other conditions. This assessment is likely to include: a physical examination blo

Treating ARDS

If someone develops ARDS, they'll probably be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) and put on a ventilator to assist their breathing. In some cases, it may be possible to use an oxygen mask to su

Complications of ARDS

As ARDS is often caused by a serious health condition, about one in three people who develop it will die. However, most deaths result from another problem caused by their illness, rather than ARDS its

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