Clinical Research Directory

Inclusion Criteria: We include patients receiving mechanical ventilation for hypoxemic respiratory failure if they met the diagnostic criteria for ARDS according to the American-European Consensus definition, as later reclassified on the basis of the 2012 Berlin criteria for the diagnosis of ARDS, defined as: 1. Presence of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (an arterial oxygen partial pressure to fraction of inspired oxygen ratio (PaO2/FiO2) of ≤ 300 mm Hg, requiring supplemental oxygen administrated by simple face mask, nasal cannula, or other similar oxygen-delivery device to maintain oxygen saturation at greater than 93% within the first 48 h of the onset of ARDS) 2. Onset within 7 days of insult, or new (within 7 days) or worsening respiratory symptoms 3. Bilateral opacities on chest x-ray or CT not fully explained by effusions, lobar or lung collapse, or nodules 4. Cardiac failure not the primary cause of acute respiratory failure Exclusion Criteria: We exclude patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure caused by congestive heart failure