Diagnosing acute respiratory distress syndrome in resource limited settings: the Kigali modification of the Berlin definition.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was re-defined by a panel of experts in Berlin in 2012. Although the Berlin criteria improved upon the validity and reliability of the definition, it did not make diagnosis of ARDS in resource limited settings possible. Mechanical ventilation, arterial blood gas measurements, and chest radiographs are not feasible in many regions of the world. In 2014, we proposed and applied the Kigali modification of the Berlin definition in a hospital in Rwanda. This review synthesizes literature from the last 18 months relevant to the Kigali modification. RECENT FINDINGS: In the last 18 months, the need for a universally applicable ARDS definition was reinforced by advances in supportive care that can be implemented in resource poor settings. Research demonstrating the variable impact of positive end expiratory pressure on hypoxemia, the validity of using pulse oximetry rather than arterial blood gas to categorize hypoxemia, and the accuracy of lung ultrasound support the use of the Kigali modification of the Berlin definition. SUMMARY: Studies directly comparing the Berlin definition to the Kigali modification are needed. Ongoing clinical research on ARDS needs to include low-income countries.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome in the global context.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a clinically defined syndrome of hypoxia and bilateral pulmonary infiltrates due to inflammatory pathways triggered by pulmonary and nonpulmonary insults, and ARDS is pathologically correlated with diffuse alveolar damage. Estimates of ARDS's impact in the developed world vary widely, with some of the discrepancies attributed to marked differences in the availability of intensive care beds and mechanical ventilation. Almost nothing is known about the epidemiology of ARDS in the developing world, in part due to a clinical definition requiring positive pressure ventilation, arterial blood gases, and chest radiography. Current frameworks for comparing the epidemiology of death and disability across the world including the GBD (Global Burden of Disease Study) 2010 are ill-suited to quantifying critical illness syndromes including ARDS. Modifications to the definition of ARDS to allow a provision for environments without the capacity for positive pressure ventilation, and to allow for alternate diagnostic techniques including pulse oximetry and ultrasound, may make it possible to quantify and describe the impact of ARDS in the global context.