Correlative study of adult respiratory distress syndrome by light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy.

The sequential pulmonary changes occurring in the evolution of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) were studied in 35 patients by correlative light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. The causes of ARDS were diverse, the major ones being sepsis or aspiration. Patient survival ranged from 3 to 51 days. The acute stage in patients surviving 2 to 7 days was characterized by an exudative reaction with a predominance of hyaline membranes. This acute stage merged with and was replaced by a subacute reparative stage in patients surviving 7 to 14 days, which in turn was replaced by a chronic fibroproliferative stage complicated by interstitial pulmonary fibrosis and a deranged acinar architecture. Correlation of findings by scanning electron microscopy with those by light and transmission electron microscopy provided an added dimension to understanding of the evolving stages of ARDS and demonstrated that type 2 pneumocytes contributed to the fibroproliferative stage through organization of hyaline membranes and re-epithelialization of alveoli.