What is adult respiratory distress syndrome?
Definition Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), also called acute respiratory distress syndrome, is a type of lung (pulmonary) failure that may result from any disease that causes large amounts of fluid to collect in the lungs. ARDS is not itself a specific disease, but a syndrome, a group of symptoms and signs that make up one of the most important forms of lung or respiratory failure. It can develop quite suddenly in persons whose lungs have been perfectly normal. Very often ARDS is a true medical emergency. The basic fault is a breakdown of the barrier, or membrane, that normally keeps fluid from leaking out of the small blood vessels of the lung into the breathing sacs (the alveoli). Description Another name for ARDS is shock lung. Its formal name is misleading, because children, as well as adults, may be affected. In the lungs the smallest blood vessels, or capillaries, make contact with the alveoli, tiny air sacs at the tips of the smallest breathing tubes (the bronchi). T
