LATTE Tool for ARDS

ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) is a lung condition we see a lot in the ICU.  It is extremely serious with a mortality rate of 30-50%…actually, I’m always a little bit surprised when someone survives ARDS. Usually they are dealing with a host of other problems such as sepsis, and when you put those two together the results are often poor.

ARDS is the most severe form of ALI (Acute Lung Injury) and develops in stages. The exudative phase is the first stage and includes the interstitial/alveolar edema and destruction of type I alveolar cells. The fibroproliferative phase involves the destruction of type II alveolar cells and increased fibrosis/decreased compliance. There’s a ton more to it, but the LATTE tool gives you the down-and-dirty info you need to know. You can find loads more at www.ardsnet.org and I have some notes from school that go into pretty good detail here, though it’s interesting to note that those notes indicate a mortality rate of 50-70%. If I find some updated numbers, I’ll let you know. The short version is that ARDS is very very very bad news for your patient.

And, without further ado…here is the ARDS LATTE for download…happy reading!

Oh, and of course…be safe out there!

____________________________________________________________

The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this website are for educational purposes only. No content on this website is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare provider’s scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Additionally, no content on this website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.