Long-term outcomes in patients surviving acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Recent studies have begun to describe the long-term outcomes of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) survivors. These patients experience several physical, mental, and psychological morbidities that significantly impair their health-related quality of life (HRQL). Persistent for years after hospital discharge, decrements in functional and neuropsychological outcomes result in lost savings, employment reduction, and a reduction in HRQL among survivors and their caregivers. Future research should focus on the early identification of patients and their family members at risk for long-term sequelae, the mechanisms of injury leading to long-term ARDS consequences, and therapeutic modalities designed to prevent or decrease these morbidities. Clinicians, caregivers, and patients should be made aware of the deleterious long-term effects of the intensive care unit stay because they are currently poorly recognized and potentially modifiable.