What happens to survivors of the adult respiratory distress syndrome?

mortality which was confirmed over the next decade or so by reports from many centers. Despite the high mortality, some consolation was taken from time impression that pulmonary function in most survivors retimrned to normal or near normal status. This imnpression was based upon a series of reports, most containing relatively small numbers of subjects with many scirvivors not siccounted for.2’tl Since that time, a series of studies incicuding three from the University of Utah,’2t6’7 one from time ARDS Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) at the University of Texas, San Antonio,’9 and a recent stsudy from the ARDS SCOR at the University of Washington’9 have provided new informnatiomi on thuis subject. Althousghm all of these studies have methodologic litnitations, taken together they give us a more complete picture of time ultimate effect of ARDS on puimona ’ fcunction. oversill functional ability, and the time course of recovery. This presentation will review the data to address the following three questions: (1) What happens to pulmonary function in survivors of ARDS and what is the time cocmrse of recovery? (2) If significant pulmonary elysfumnctioms results, what are the determinants allowing its prediction? (3) What is the overall functional ability of scirvivors dif ARDS, and what is the relationship of overall function to pulmonary functional status?