Incidence of ARF Due to COVID-19 Interstitial Pneumonia

Abstract

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and hypoxemic respiratory failure represent the leading cause of death and a top priority complication in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. ARDS, which tends to occur about 8–14 days from the onset of symptoms, may be found in 60–89.9% of patients who die during hospitalization. According to current literature, the reported incidence of ARDS among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 is quite wide and ranges from below 3% to 29%; the percentage increases to 32.8% among patients needing intensive care. Older age (especially ≥65 years), preexisting concurrent cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases, baseline hypertension, diabetes, and high temperature and injury to other organs (such as acute kidney disease) during COVID-19 course are associated with the occurrence of ARDS. Similarly, lymphopenia, decreased fibrinogen levels, and elevated d-dimer, C-reactive protein, ferritin serum levels, transaminases, and lactate dehydrogenase represent laboratory predictors of ARDS. Despite the increasing knowledge recently reached about COVID-19 course, further research efforts are needed to understand why some patients experience persistent inflammation, ARDS, and even death, while most of patients survive the inflammatory response and clear the virus more easily.