Radiographic findings in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Since its description in 1967, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has become a widely recognized, if somewhat imperfectly understood, entity. This article reviews the imaging characteristics of ARDS as demonstrated on plain chest radiography, CT scan, radionuclide imaging, and MR imaging. The abnormalities displayed on these modalities are well understood even though there may be some dispute as to their relative importance in diagnosing and managing patients.