Mechanism of injury influences quality of life in survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome

Abstract

QOL in survivors of ARDS appears to be influenced by the mechanism of lung injury (primary vs. secondary), lending support to the concept that ARDS is a heterogeneous condition.

Quality of Life, Pulmonary Function, and Tomographic Scan Abnormalities After ARDS

“…No differences in HRQL caused by respiratory distress were observed, in keeping with the results of Kim et al [15] Nonetheless, Parker et al, [32] who studied a larger number of patients over a longer follow-up period, reported more favorable recovery of HRQL in patients with ARDS of intrapulmonary origin. Similar to previous data reported, [25] , [33] no differences were found in HRQL according to whether patients lay in the prone position or whether they received inhaled nitric oxide or steroids.…”

Clinical and Biological Heterogeneity in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

“…followed 73 patients with ARDS for 1 year after critical illness to specifically assess whether the underlying cause of ARDS affected quality of life scores. In fact, this group showed that patients with indirect ARDS had worse quality of life on the majority of domains tested, even when adjusted for duration of illness and comorbidities 47 .…”

“…Aside from mortality, there have now been several studies that have measured indicators of quality of life after critical illness 47–51 . Patients with ARDS have worse quality of life scores than patients without ARDS during critical illness and these impairments persisted over several years 48, 49, 51 .…”

Pulmonary and extrapulmonary acute respiratory distress syndrome: myth or reality?

“…Angus et al [18] measured qualityadjusted survival in the first year only in pulmonary ARDS patients, and observed that the quality of life in those who survived was markedly impaired. Recently, Parker et al [19] found that the quality of life was similar in pulmonary and extrapulmonary ARDS patients at 3 months, but by 12 months patients with pulmonary ARDS had significantly better quality of life.…”