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Caring for Patients With Acute Respiratory Distress SyndromeSummary of the 2023 ESICM Practice Guidelines

To identify the key insights or developments described in this article
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The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a constellation of conditions sharing the central feature of noncardiogenic pulmonary edema, typically mediated by diffuse alveolocapillary permeability and inflammation, that results in impaired gas exchange severe enough to pose an immediate threat to life.1ARDS was first described more than 50 years ago and arises from conditions such as trauma, massive blood transfusion, septic shock, or pneumonia.1 The development of ARDS is ominous. While advances in intensive care over the past decades have resulted in improved outcomes, hospital mortality rate due to ARDS is still 40%.2 Arguably, the most striking example of ARDS is the severe respiratory failure that develops secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection, responsible for a massive death toll worldwide, not to mention the colossal burden on hospital and intensive care services.

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Article Information

Corresponding Author: Derek C. Angus, MD, MPH, Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 3550 Terrace Ave, Scaife Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (angusdc@upmc.edu).

Published Online: June 17, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.6812

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Angus is a lifetime honorary member of ESICM and he was co–principal investigator of the NHLBI PETAL Network ROSE trial, testing neuromuscular blockade in patients with severe ARDS. Dr Seymour reported receiving grants from NIH/NIGMS during the conduct of this work, personal fees from Inotrem Inc, and personal fees from Beckman Inc outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

References
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Ashbaugh  DG , Bigelow  DB , Petty  TL , Levine  BE .  Acute respiratory distress in adults.   Lancet. 1967;2(7511):319-323. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(67)90168-7 PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
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Bellani  G , Laffey  JG , Pham  T ,  et al; LUNG SAFE Investigators; ESICM Trials Group.  Epidemiology, patterns of care, and mortality for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in intensive care units in 50 countries.   JAMA. 2016;315(8):788-800. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.0291 PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
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Brower  RG , Matthay  MA , Morris  A , Schoenfeld  D , Thompson  BT , Wheeler  A ; Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Network.  Ventilation with lower tidal volumes as compared with traditional tidal volumes for acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome.   N Engl J Med. 2000;342(18):1301-1308. doi:10.1056/NEJM200005043421801 PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
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Grasselli  G , Calfee  CS , Camporota  L ,  et al; for the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine Taskforce on ARDS.  ESICM guidelines on acute respiratory distress syndrome: definition, phenotyping and respiratory support strategies.   Intensive Care Med. Published online June 16, 2023. doi:10.1007/s00134-023-07050-7Google ScholarCrossref
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Ranieri  VM , Rubenfeld  GD , Thompson  BT ,  et al; ARDS Definition Task Force.  Acute respiratory distress syndrome: the Berlin definition.   JAMA. 2012;307(23):2526-2533. PubMedGoogle Scholar
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Combes  A , Hajage  D , Capellier  G ,  et al; EOLIA Trial Group, REVA, and ECMONet.  Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome.   N Engl J Med. 2018;378(21):1965-1975. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1800385 PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
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Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

  • 1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
  • 1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
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  • 1.00 credit toward the CME of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program

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