Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients will be eligible for inclusion if they meet all of the below criteria. Criteria 1-3 must all be present within a 24-hour time period and at the time of enrollment:

Acute onset (defined below) of:

A need for positive pressure ventilation by an endotracheal or tracheal tube with a PaO2/FiO2 ratio < 200 with at least 8 cm H2O positive end-expiratory airway pressure (PEEP) Bilateral infiltrates consistent with pulmonary edema on frontal chest radiograph No clinical evidence of left atrial hypertension for bilateral pulmonary infiltrates.

In addition to meeting inclusion criteria, enrollment must occur within 96-hours of first meeting ARDS criteria per the Berlin definition of ARDS.

Exclusion Criteria: