• H Taniguchi, Y Kondoh, N Ikuta, and K Takagi.
• Department of Resriratory Medicine, Tosei General Hospital, Aichi, Japan.
• Nihon Kyobu Shikkan Gakkai Zasshi. 1995 Dec 1; 33 Suppl: 251-6.

AbstractTo better understand the pathogenesis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), we analyzed bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from patients with ARDS (n = 89, survival rate = 56.2%), who were admitted to our intensive care units over the past 7 years. ARDS was diagnosed when the lung injury score proposed by Murray et al was greater than 2.5. The BALF had very high centrations of albumin, a marker of permeability edema, along with remarkably high neutrophil counts, percent neutrophils, neutrophil-elastase, and interleukin-8, markers of neutrophil-related lung injury. In addition, the level of IL-8 in BALF was higher in non-survivors than in survivors. Levels of thrombin-antithrombin complex fibrin degenerative product and soluble thrombomodulin (recently recognized as a natural anticoagulant combined with vascular endothelial cells) were very high in BALF from patients with ARDS. Moreover, the level of soluble thrombomodulin in BALF was higher in non-survivors than in survivors. There were significant relationships between these neutrophil-related markers and markers of abnormal coagulation. The results of the BALF analysis suggest that accumulation and activation of neutrophils can affect thrombomodulin on vascular endothelial cells, which can activate thrombin and cause the coagulopathy seen in ARDS.

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