Conclusions
The Berlin definition has marked a major step for a uniform classification of ARDS. As major finding of our study, the OI has been proven to be a more suitable parameter to predict mortality of patients suffering from ARDS in national referral centres when compared to PaO2/FiO2 ratio, the AECC or Berlin definition. The OI appears to be especially helpful for prediction of mortality on day three after admission to a specialized referral centre, as a response to standardised ARDS treatment may be observed by that time. Secondly, early patient transfers to specialized ARDS centres are associated with increased survival.
Abbreviations
AECC: American European consensus conference on ARDS; ALI: Acute lung injury; APACHE II: Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II; ARDS: Acute respiratory distress syndrome; AUC: Area under curve; CCI: Charlson comorbidity index; COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ECLA: Extracorporeal lung assist; ECMO: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; ELAD: Extracorporeal lung assistant devices; FiO2: Fraction of inspired oxygen; ICU: Intensive care unit; OI: Oxygenation index; PaO2: Arterial partial pressure of oxygen; PBW: Predicted body weight; PEEP: Positive endexspiratory pressure; SAPS II: Simplified acute physiology score; SOFA: Sequential organ failure assessment; VT: Tidal volume
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Eike Kühn for his excellent help in data preparation and processing.
Funding
No external funding has been obtained for this study.
Availability of data and materials
The datasets analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
The study was approved by the written consent of the Ethics Commission - Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (EA1/223/12). The need for patient's consent was waived due to the retrospective nature of the study.
BMC Anesthesiol. 2016;16(108) © 2016 BioMed Central, Ltd.
Comments