Fulminant pulmonary edema after near-drowning: remarkably high colloid osmotic pressure in tracheal fluid.

A 44-year-old man developed severe permeability pulmonary edema associated with septic shock after near-drowning. Colloid osmotic pressure (COP) of deep tracheal fluid was persistently higher than plasma COP. Tracheal/plasma COP ratio reached a peak value of 1.75. A massive colloid infusion of 5% protein solution was incriminated in the development of this markedly elevated COP in the tracheal fluid.