ARDS in fulminant ornithosis and treatment with extracorporeal lung assist

We report a 47-year-old male patient with fulminant ornithosis who develope d severe respiratory failure leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) complicated by gastrointestinal, neurological and renal symptoms. A RDS was successfully treated by extracorporeal lung assist. As leukocytosis is typically absent in ornithosis, C-reactive protein, interleukin 6 and p rocalcitonin were used as infection parameters in order to monitor clinical development. The English-language literature on severe cases of ornithosis requiring respiratory support over the past 30 years is reviewed.