THE AMERICAN-EUROPEAN CONSENSUS CONFERENCE ON ARDS, PART 2 - VENTILATORY, PHARMACOLOGICAL, SUPPORTIVE THERAPY, STUDY DESIGN STRATEGIES AND ISSUES RELATED TO RECOVERY AND REMODELING

The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) continues as a contribu tor to the morbidity and mortality of patients in intensive care units throughout the world, imparting tremendous human and financial costs. During the last ten years there has been a decline in ARDS mortality without a clear explanation. The American-European Consensus Committee on ARDS was formed to re-evaluate the standards for the ICU care of p atients with acute lung injury (ALI), with regard to ventilatory strat egies, the more promising pharmacologic agents, and the definition and quantification of pathological features of ALI that require resolutio n. It was felt that the definition of strategies for the clinical desi gn and coordination of studies between centers and continents was beco ming increasingly important to facilitate the study of various new the rapies for ARDS.