The Road to Recovery: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in 2022
Every year, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) causes the death of over 180,000 people worldwide, and critically injured another 560,000+. By 2022, it’s projected that ARDS will cause the death of over 200,000 people worldwide, and critically injure another 750,000+. In an effort to reduce the number of people killed or injured by ARDS in the future, The Lancet Commission has released its recommendations on how to treat ARDS from medical facilities around the world by 2022.
What can be done now?
Due to the environmental factors associated with ARDS, things are not going to improve much if individuals do not take steps now. The health of future generations will largely depend on how serious and quick action is taken today. Future policies need change, new legislation needs implementation, energy and water saving solutions need inventing, and alternatives for cars need creating so that more people can use public transportation instead of gas-powered cars. With these changes, I believe it is possible for ARDS to be as rare as polio by 2020 and an afterthought by 2035.
Here are some resources you can use today that will help you make changes towards a healthier tomorrow:
Organizations Making a Difference for Environmental Causes; How Air Pollution Affects Our Health y Living Magazine provides tips to help minimize air pollution such as eating healthy food and using only green products. There is also advice about what we should all do when we see smog in the sky or when there's a wildfire nearby. Learn about pollution sources and what you can do about them here!Organizations Making a Difference for Clean Water
Environmental organizations such as American Rivers are working tirelessly to protect clean water around the world. Check out their website to learn more about clean water issues like fracking, waste disposal, and industrial farms that contaminate rivers with chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides. Together,we can create better living conditions for our future selves and our children.
Learn More About Giving Back To Society
Visit Give Back Central to find volunteer opportunities in your area that suit your schedule and interests. You'll find opportunities such as mentoring kids, reading stories to senior citizens, or helping out at homeless shelters--whatever suits your heart! If you're interested in making a difference but don't know where to start, give this site a visit. It has many ways for you to give back to society and make it a better place. Start small today, and enjoy the benefits later on! Let's live healthier lives so that no one ever experiences ARDS again.
Learn More About Your Healthcare Provider’s Role In This Problem
Survival rates at 20%
Overall, survivors are doing better than ever before. But we need to do more if we want to achieve the better than every milestone.
-- 20% of patients will survive ARDS (down from 33% as of 2017)
-- More people will come forward for transplants and will live longer (while more people die on the waiting list due to improved care)
-- The continued development of artificial organs should help those with terminal illnesses that qualify for a transplant but still have an age-inappropriate donor.
But we need more. There’s a chance one day we will see no ARDS survivors, just as it was nearly five decades ago. We need better ways to predict ARDS, detect it earlier and manage its progression. We need better ways to reach people with our information. And we need you—the patients, doctors and researchers alike—to continue moving us forward. Together, there is hope for a future without ARDS. For now, though, work must continue so that everyone can enjoy this progress. One where recovery becomes the norm and not the exception. Where hospitals are required to share their data so all research can lead to new treatments. Where healthcare providers talk about ARDS prevention during hospitalization, in community health centers, at schools, at home and during wellness visits. Where other diseases receive similar treatment attention. One where everyone has access to air pollution monitoring systems so they know when they need protection against outdoor air pollution exposures or stay indoors when indoor pollutant levels become too high. One where finding out how severe an episode of ARDS might be may soon be possible through genetic testing rather than clinical observation alone – paving the way for personalized treatment protocols. One where infections can be prevented with medications to prevent sepsis before it happens. One where new drugs and novel therapies enter the market rapidly, saving lives while also reducing costs by eliminating unnecessary treatments. One where infectious disease rates drop because there is more rapid detection and less antibiotic resistance develops. Where immunotherapy comes into play early, preventing chronic lung problems like COPD and interstitial lung disease. Where the power of online communities empowers people with ARDS, supporting them throughout their entire journey. One where healthcare professionals go beyond do not resuscitate orders for those who wish to stop living artificially and encourage palliative care instead. One where death doesn't necessarily mean being taken off the ventilator. One where insurance companies cover the cost of long-term ventilator use. One where caregivers get support to deal with their feelings and exhaustion. One where a patient gets both counseling and comfort care, which we've found can significantly improve quality of life. Where alternative forms of ventilation, like apnea therapy, emerge as additional options to consider. Where nurses and respiratory therapists get training in best practices for managing ARDS. Where we focus on making sure families are given the best resources to provide needed care for loved ones suffering from ARDS. And finally, one where most importantly, we're able to keep fighting until there's no more ARDS. Where we can tell the same story that started in 1968, one where survival means not only a survival from ARDS, but a full and healthy life.
My name is Patrick. I am 52 years old and I survived ARDS. My daughter Alyssa was born healthy.
How can this be achieved?
Effective prevention and treatment programs are necessary to ensure that the global community aspires towards this goal.
-Increased awareness of risk factors, symptoms, and strategies for prevention is needed globally.
-Investment into research on technologies such as the n95 mask (that could significantly reduce hospital admissions) is essential.
-Promoting early interventions with non-invasive treatments can prevent progression to ARDS. The use of prophylactic ventilator support should be considered only when there is significant risk for developing ARDS.
-Effective care models should include a range of care settings to meet individual needs, including emergency departments, intensive care units, and home environments. -Provision of effective supportive care, which may include mechanical ventilation, bronchodilators and oxygen therapy.
-Intermittent prone positioning. In order to facilitate healing, clinicians must carefully monitor patients’ lung function by conducting regular assessments of oxygenation status at the bedside. Regular pulmonary toilet with chest physiotherapy should also be provided. Antibiotics should be administered promptly if pneumonia develops or an underlying infection is suspected. Aggressive sedation/analgesia measures can increase vulnerability to respiratory failure and should be avoided if possible. Physiotherapists play an important role in treating patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome; they help their patients maintain mobility and optimal lung function, helping them get back on their feet sooner than expected. As more data emerges about the mechanisms of inflammation, clinicians will be able to identify those who will develop severe disease and offer preventive therapies such as bronchodilators before respiratory dysfunction progresses. Trials with heparin and sildenafil have shown some benefit in preventing or reducing the severity of acute respiratory distress syndrome respectively. Currently, there is no intervention that has been demonstrated convincingly to halt progression from moderate to severe disease. Trials using nitric oxide donor drugs show some promise but so far results have not been convincing enough for implementation due to lack of clarity around safety issues, lack of affordable cost effectiveness, availability and sustainability problems. Nitric oxide gas has been used safely in trauma situations to reduce inflammation, so it seems logical that it would have a similar effect on sepsis patients. RCTs are currently underway to determine whether this is true and establish safe doses. If proven successful, it would be the first intervention to stop progression from moderate to severe ARDS. Many groups of people are at high risk for ARDS. Infants, children, pregnant women, and the elderly have high rates of mortality and disability. Many other patients in critical care units require supplemental oxygen to avoid the development of ARDS. However, many people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, and asthma have low susceptibility to ARDS because their lungs contain thickened mucus that protects them from inhaling bacteria.
People with chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension should be monitored closely because they may be more vulnerable to complications associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
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