Characteristics of Nonpulmonary Organ Dysfunction at Onset of ARDS Based on the Berlin Definition
BACKGROUND: The Berlin definition of ARDS does not account for nonpulmonary organ failure, which is a major determinant of outcome. We examined whether an increasing severity of hypoxemia across the Berlin definition classifications also corresponded with evidence of multiple organ dysfunction on the day of ARDS onset. We also examined the representation of major etiologies for ARDS across the Berlin definition classifications. METHODS: This single-center, retrospective study examined 15 years of data from a quality assurance program that monitored the use of lung-protective ventilation in ARDS. We analyzed 1,747 subjects without chronic kidney disease or severe chronic liver disease at ARDS onset. The most abnormal laboratory values at ARDS onset were analyzed as cutoff values to assess organ dysfunction. Data were analyzed by using non-parametric analysis of variance (Kruskall-Wallis test) and the Dunn post test. Categorical variables were compared by using the Fisher exact test. Alp