Role of inflammatory markers in acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome

Acute lung injury (ALI) and its severe form acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), serious clinical disorders with high morbidity and mortality, are characterized by diffuse alveolar injury, lung edema formation, neutrophil-derived inflammation, and surfactant dysfunction.Currently, ALI/ARDS is considered to be an excessive inflammatory process in the lung that occurs in response to pulmonary or extra-pulmonary injury and develops the uncontrolled systemic inflammatory response syndrome.Besides clinical signs and risk factors, various inflammatory markers reflecting the complex pathogenesis of ALI/ARDS have been used as biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of ALI/ARDS.This chapter reviews the role of biomarkers in diagnosis and prognosis of ALI/ARDS. Key words: Acute lung injury; Acute respiratory distress syndrome; Inflammatory factors