Clinical Analysis of Statistical Data on the Characteristics of Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in a Greek ICU.

Abstract

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a potentially life-threatening condition for a many patients. The associated mortality rate may exceed 50% in some cases. The etiopathogenesis of the syndrome remains unclear, and in Greece the exact number of people suffering or dying of ARDS each year is unknown. In this study, we sought to record the clinical characteristics and outcomes of all patients with laboratory confirmed ARDS. This is a retrospective single-center observational study, conducted in mixed, closed-type ICU with 12 beds at a Greek public health system hospital. The medical records of patients admitted to the ICU from January 1, 2015, until December 31, 2016, were retrospectively studied, and statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 22.0 software. Patients were assessed using the Fisher exact test assuming variances. All tests were two-tailed. In total, 15 patients developed ARDS (5.4%). According to the existence of radiographic pulmonary edema image with bilateral infiltrates, 12 patients were classified in the early phase of the syndrome described by the term exudative phase and 3 patients were classified in the third stage of final fibrosis (fibrotic stage). According to the Fisher test, there is a significant correlation between age and outcome. The incidence of the syndrome among hospitalized patients in ICU is in line with the current literature, while the main predisposing factor in this study was acute pancreatitis.