Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Apr 7;364(14):1293-304.
doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1011802.

Functional disability 5 years after acute respiratory distress syndrome

Margaret S Herridge  1 , Catherine M Tansey, Andrea Matté, George Tomlinson, Natalia Diaz-Granados, Andrew Cooper, Cameron B Guest, C David Mazer, Sangeeta Mehta, Thomas E Stewart, Paul Kudlow, Deborah Cook, Arthur S Slutsky, Angela M Cheung; Canadian Critical Care Trials Group
Affiliations
Free article

Functional disability 5 years after acute respiratory distress syndrome

Margaret S Herridge et al. N Engl J Med. .
Free article

Abstract

Background: There have been few detailed, in-person interviews and examinations to obtain follow-up data on 5-year outcomes among survivors of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Methods: We evaluated 109 survivors of ARDS at 3, 6, and 12 months and at 2, 3, 4, and 5 years after discharge from the intensive care unit. At each visit, patients were interviewed and examined; underwent pulmonary-function tests, the 6-minute walk test, resting and exercise oximetry, chest imaging, and a quality-of-life evaluation; and reported their use of health care services.

Results: At 5 years, the median 6-minute walk distance was 436 m (76% of predicted distance) and the Physical Component Score on the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey was 41 (mean norm score matched for age and sex, 50). With respect to this score, younger patients had a greater rate of recovery than older patients, but neither group returned to normal predicted levels of physical function at 5 years. Pulmonary function was normal to near-normal. A constellation of other physical and psychological problems developed or persisted in patients and family caregivers for up to 5 years. Patients with more coexisting illnesses incurred greater 5-year costs.

Conclusions: Exercise limitation, physical and psychological sequelae, decreased physical quality of life, and increased costs and use of health care services are important legacies of severe lung injury.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources