title: Respiratory failure. Conventional and high-tech support.
abstract: Although significant progress has been made in the treatment of patients with acute lung failure in the critical care setting, the mortality rate from acute lung injury and ARDS is unacceptably high, given the numbers of patients treated for these syndromes each year. The improved understanding of the pathophysiology of respiratory failure from basic science and clinical research is reflected in improved survival rates over the years. Advances in the mechanical ventilator (through microprocessor technology); biosurface technology; liquid ventilation; and, in some cases, returning to so-called "antiquated" practices of patient care (e.g., prone positioning) seem to have had an impact nonetheless. As refinement continues to occur in these areas, morbidity and mortality from lung failure will have a lesser impact on patients as physicians treat the consequences of organ failure in the ICU.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, USA.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Shapiro
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Bartlett
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003422:Critical Care; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D016684:Prone Position; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000379:methods; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D015996:Survival Rate; D012122:Ventilators, Mechanical
chemical_list: D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants