Practice of diagnosis and management of acute respiratory distress syndrome in mainland China: a cross-sectional study

Although acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been recognized for more than 50 years, limited information exists about the incidence and management of ARDS in mainland China. To evaluate the potential for improvement in management of patients with ARDS, this study was designed to describe the incidence and management of ARDS in mainland China. National prospective multicenter observational study over one month (August 31 to September 30 , 2012) of all patients who fulfilled the Berlin or American European Consensus Conference (AECC) definition of ARDS in 20 intensive care units, with data collection related to the management of ARDS, patient characteristics and outcomes. Of the 1,814 patients admitted during the enrollment period, 149 (8.2%) and 147 (8.1%) patients were diagnosed by AECC and Berlin definition, respectively. Lung protective strategy with low tidal volume (Vt) (≤8 mL/kg) and limitation of the plateau pressure (Pplat) (≤30 cmH O) was performed in 75.2% patients. And, 36%, 21.1% and 4.1% patients with severe, moderate and mild ARDS had the driving pressure more than 14 cmH O (P