Improved outcomes by lung protective strategy in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a critical condition with a high mortality rate and is an important complication of COVID-19. The mortality rate among elderly and septic patients can reach as high as 80%. Patients' survival can be improved through adequate ARDS management, including early diagnosis, a lung-protective ventilation strategy (using a low tidal volume of approximately 6-8 ml/kg of predicted body weight [PBW] and maintaining a low plateau pressure of < 30 cm H₂O), and prone positioning for appropriate patients with severe disease. However, the recognition of ARDS and the implementation of effective therapies are limited among clinicians.

Due to these reasons, we launched an ARDS improvement project that led to an increase in the ARDS recognition rate from 52.2% to 74.4%. Compliance with the lung protective strategy also improved significantly, rising from 30.4% to 75.6%. Furthermore, the ICU mortality rate saw a notable decrease from 56.5% to 39.8%.