الفهرس 
Acute Lung Injury
Factors affecting VWF concentration and activityOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Acute lung injury (ALI) was defined as a distinct clinical entity in recognition of the spectrum of severity of pulmonary damage that may occur in association with the wide variety of precipitating conditions. ALI and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are distinguished only by the severity of the refractory hypoxemia that characterizes both conditions, a distinction that may prove to have little clinical relevance.ALI and ARDS were defined in 1994 by the American European Consensus Conference Committee. By this definition ALI is described as the patient having a ratio of the partial pressure of arterial oxygen to the fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO2:FiO2) of 300 mm Hg or less or as 200 mm Hg or less for ARDS. Von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a blood glycoprotein involved in hemostasis. VWF is produced constitutively in the endothelium, megakaryocytes and subendothelial connective tissue. It seems to be good marker of endothelial damage, but their importance in the critically ill has not been definitely elucidated yet.The objective of the study was to demonstrate that elevation in serum level of VWF-Ag as a marker of endothelial injury, are associated with poor clinical outcomes including mortality, multiple system organ failure and long need for ventilatory support in PICU patients with ALI and hence we can predict the outcome using this marker.Forty Pediatric patients admitted to PICU were enrolled in the study. Their ages ranged from 1.5- 8.5 years and they were 22 males and 18 females. The cases were followed until discharge to home, death or 28 days beginning from day of development of ALI. Another 20 healthy volunteers of matched age and sex served as a control group.