title: Acute respiratory distress syndrome in children.
abstract: The adult (acute) respiratory distress syndrome is a significant cause of morbidity in children. The mortality rates remain elevated, greater than 50%, and even greater than 80% in patients with underlying malignancies. The therapeutic interventions remain mainly supportive. Strategies of conventional mechanical ventilation are directed toward the use of high positive end-expiratory pressures, low positive inspiratory pressure, and permissive hypercapnia. High-frequency oscillatory ventilation and tracheal insufflation are not yet used extensively, although they should contribute to less aggressive ventilation. Surfactant replacement, nitric oxide inhalation, and partial liquid ventilation seem to be promising technologies, but controlled clinical studies are necessary before their wide-spread use. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation remains the alternative technology in case of failure of conventional support.
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Robert Debré, Service de Pédiatrie Réanimation, Faculté Xavier Bichat, Université Paris, VII, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beaufils
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Mercier
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Farnoux
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saizou
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Thébaud
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D015199:Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006612:High-Frequency Ventilation; D006801:Humans; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods*; D011175:Positive-Pressure Respiration / Q000379:methods; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000628:therapy*; D012138:Respiratory Therapy / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005466:Fluorocarbons; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants; D009569:Nitric Oxide