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acute respiratory distress syndrome
noun
: respiratory failure of sudden onset in adults or children that follows injury to the endothelium of the lung (as in sepsis, chest trauma, massive blood transfusion, aspiration of the gastric contents, or pneumonia) and results in the accumulation of protein-rich fluid and the collapse of alveoli leading to difficult, rapid breathing and very low levels of oxygen in the blood
—abbreviation ARD
called also adult respiratory distress syndrome
Examples of acute respiratory distress syndrome in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Chhattisgarh, a state with a population of 32 million people, has 150 ventilators in government hospitals and perhaps only 25 specialists who know how to ventilate cases of acute respiratory distress syndrome, the kind of respiratory failure caused by COVID-19.
—Vidya Krishnan, Foreign Affairs, 25 Mar. 2020
Doctors in North Dakota diagnosed Allard with parainfluenza, a virus that can cause respiratory infections, which spiraled into pneumonia, then acute respiratory distress syndrome — a life-threatening injury caused by fluid build-up in the lungs.
—Aria Bendix, NBC News, 23 Jan. 2024
The survey — conducted by researchers of New York University and the University of Michigan — examined patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, across 48 different hospitals across the United States.
—Emi Tuyetnhi Tran, NBC News, 23 Feb. 2024
Allard was later diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a potentially life-threatening condition where fluid builds up in the lungs and could require treatment in an intensive care unit.
—Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1981, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of acute respiratory distress syndrome was
in 1981
Dictionary Entries Near acute respiratory distress syndrome
Cite this Entry
“Acute respiratory distress syndrome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acute%20respiratory%20distress%20syndrome. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Medical Definition
acute respiratory distress syndrome
noun
: respiratory failure of sudden onset in adults or children that follows injury to the endothelium of the lung (as in sepsis, chest trauma, massive blood transfusion, aspiration of the gastric contents, or pneumonia) with the accumulation of protein-rich fluid and the collapse of alveoli leading to difficult, rapid breathing and very low levels of oxygen in the blood
The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been recognized for more than 30 years as a severe form of acute respiratory failure. Patients with this disorder are critically ill, require mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit (ICU), and have a high mortality, ranging from 35% to 50% in recent reports.—Harriet Kitzman et al., The Journal of the American Medical Association
A relatively simple method of improving oxygenation in a patient with acute respiratory distress syndrome … is to place the patient in the prone position—James W. Leatherman et al., Scientific American Medicine Bulletin
—abbreviation ARDS
called also adult respiratory distress syndrome
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