Objective To analyze different characteristics of extra-vascular lung water ( EVLW) in the patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome( ARDS) , and examine its prognostic value.
Methods 23 patients with ARDS admitted between November 2010 and December 2011 were divided into a survival group( n=13) and a dead group( n =10) according to the outcome. The hemodynamic status including extravascular lung water index( EVLWI) was measured in 3 consecutive days, and the relationship between EVLWI and the prognosis of patients was analyzed.
Results On the first day of diagnosis, the EVLWI was higher in both groups in comparison with normal value. It was ( 13. 9 ±3. 45) mL/kg in the survival group and ( 14. 87 ±5. 75) mL/kg in the dead group( P  gt;0. 05) . However, on the second day, the EVLWI in the survival group dropped significantly after intensive intervention, but the patients in the dead group did not respond well to the treatment and the EVLWI declined slightly. The EVLWI of both groups began to diverge significantly fromeach other, showing average value of ( 11. 07 ±2. 51) mL/kg and ( 15.63 ±5. 05) mL/kg, respectively( P  lt; 0. 05) . On the third day, this difference between two groups was still more remarkable, resulting in ( 10.32 ±1.57) mL/kg vs. ( 16. 6 ±4. 33) mL/kg( P  lt; 0. 01) .
Conclusions The changes of EVLWI can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment and predict the prognosis of patients with ARDS. EVLWI would likely be an indicator to evaluate the pulmonary capillary leakage.

Citation： DENG Ning,CHANGWeimin,WANG Chunquan,YANG Jinjun,GUO Wei. The Prognostic Value of Extra-vascular Lung Water Index in Patients with ARDS. Chinese Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2012, 11(6): 528-531. doi: Copy