Complications of acute respiratory failure.

Acute respiratory failure is frequently fatal. Attempts to decrease mortality must include attention to pulmonary and extrapulmonary complications. Pulmonary complications include pulmonary emboli, barotrauma, fibrosis, and pneumonia. Swan-Ganz catheters, tracheal intubation, and mechanical ventilation can also result in pulmonary complications. Extra-pulmonary complications such as gastrointestinal hemorrhage, renal failure, infection, and thrombocytopenia may increase mortality. Early diagnosis, aggressive treatment, and prophylaxis of complications should increase survival.