Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Review on Animal Models

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is an acute inflammatory lung injury. ARDS occurs when there is disruption in the alveolar-capillary barrier followed by the deposition of protein rich fluid inside the alveoli of the lungs. This protein-rich fluid stops the lungs from filling with enough air, resulting in less oxygen reaching the bloodstream. This depletes the organs of the oxygen that they need for proper functioning. The various clinical disorders that are associated with the development of ARDS include sepsis, pneumonia, aspiration of gastric contents, and major trauma. Human ARDS is not caused by any single event and hence there is no such existing animal model that would completely mimic Human ARDS. This review provides the various methods for insulting ARDS in animal model, along with advantage and disadvantage of each method.