Laboratory Biomarkers and Pulmonary Interstitial Emphysema in ARDS (PIE-ARDS)

Barotrauma (pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum) is a well-described complication of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), especially in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (16.1% in COVID-19, and about 6% in non-COVID-19 ARDS). Macklin effect was recently discovered by our group as an accurate radiological predictor of barotrauma in COVID-19 ARDS; the Investigators also found that density histograms automatically extracted from chest CT images provide a reliable insight into lung composition

. Since lung frailty is a major issue also in non-COVID-19 ARDS, the Investigators want to confirm the predictive role of Macklin effect also in this setting. In addition, the Investigators aim to explore inflammatory profiling to decipher different biological aspects of the same clinical issue. Finally, the Investigators want to develop a specific management algorithm for patients diagnosed, according to our findings, with a specific ARDS sub phenotype characterized by increased lung frailty