ARDS: The difficulty with a definition

Despite being defined as a syndrome over 4 decades ago, current studies estimate that over half of patients diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome do not in fact have the disease. In this podcast, Dr Stephen Frohlich explains the difficulties with defining this clinical syndrome and takes us through the new Berlin criteria, set to take over from the established AECC definition. Dr Frohlich and Dr Thomas examine alternate definitions and means of diagnosis with reference to a histological gold standard, and highlight the problems that diagnostic inaccuracy causes researchers examining novel therapies.