Pharmacological therapies for acute respiratory distress syndrome

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has no specific treatment, the only effective therapy currently being limited to minimizing potentially harmful ventilation and avoiding a positive fluid balance. These treatments could not be completely effective in severe disease and several measures must be undertaken simultaneously, including pharmacological therapies aimed at correcting the etiology or targeting the pathogenesis. In this review article we provide update on pharmacological therapies in ARDS, showing their effect on outcome in recent trials.