Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

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ARDS Diagnosis

ARDS is diagnosed primarily on the basis of the following clinical features:

• Chest x-ray abnormalities (e.g., presence of fluid in the alveolar space of both lungs; changes on x-ray may lag several hours behind functional changes detected in arterial blood gas analysis)
• Abnormalities in the arterial blood gas analysis that reflect difficulties in achieving sufficient oxygen levels in the blood
• Absence of clinical evidence of left atrial hypertension of other causes of diffuse pulmonary infiltrates (e.g., congestive heart failure, pulmonary hemorrhage)
• Abnormally low blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries

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Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) Resources

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