The impacts of ARDS
As someone with a severe viral respiratory infection progresses towards ARDS, they will experience increasingly significant negative impact on their health. This includes increased symptom severity, mortality and risk of developing additional illnesses. These people typically need much more healthcare support, which can mean much more time in hospital, more invasive procedures, longer recovery times and greater costs.
A systematic research review included almost 11,000 people, largely from China, Spain and France, who had ARDS resulting from viral respiratory infections caused by COVID-19. The results showed that around 40% died, largely as a result of sepsis and/or multi-organ failure1.
Emerging evidence suggests that timely intervention is crucial to managing the severe effects of viral respiratory infections on the immune system to reduce cases of ARDS and ensure more positive outcomes for patients.
