Anti-infectious treatment in acute respiratory distress syndrome

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is closely correlated with infection. Severe infection, e.g., sepsis and septic shock, can result in ARDS. Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the common complications in ARDS related infection. As regards ARDS related infection, community acquired infection (CAI) is different from hospital acquired infection (HAI) in bacterial spectrum. The former is mainly caused by Streptococcus pneumonia, Hemophilus influenzae, Moraxelle catarrhalis, atypical pathogens and Klebsiella pneumoniae. However, HAI is mainly caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumanii, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA), and other drug-resistant bacteria. The drug-resistant bacterial infection not only makes treatment difficult, but also leads to an increase in mechanical ventilation time, length of ICU stay, mortality rate, and medical costs. The present paper has reviewed the relationship between ARDS and infection, therapeutic principles and measures of ARDS related infection, and introduced the optimal strategy of anti-infectious treatment of ARDS.