Clinical Epidemiology of Acute Lung Injury and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Incidence, Diagnosis, and Outcomes

A good understanding of the epidemiology of ARDS is important for the allocation of health care resources and research funds and also for the evaluation of new therapeutic interventions and health care delivery. Unfortunately, the only way such data can be obtained is through large prospective population-based studies that could be impractical and difficult to perform. Nonetheless, the authors believe that there is enough information in the medical literature to show that ARDS is a relatively common entity with significant morbidity and mortality, and although different studies suggest that the outcomes of ARDS may be improving, this entity still has the potential to have a significant burden on public health.