Postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome in randomized controlled trials.

Representation of postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome in trials of the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Network and the Clinical Trials Network for the Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury gradually declined from 2000 to 2011 but remained stable afterward. Postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome was associated with lower mortality than non-postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome. These findings may put both temporal trends and the prognosis of postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome in perspective. Also, positive fluid balance was associated with the mortality of patients with postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome.