Acute respiratory distress syndrome chest x ray

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Brian Shaller, M.D. [2]

By definition, patients with ARDS have bilateral airspace opacities on chest X-ray.

Chest X-ray is the preferred imaging modality in the assessment of ARDS. Classic findings of ARDS on chest X-ray include:

• Diffuse, hazy airspace opacities that are bilateral but often asymmetric
• Obscuration of the pulmonary vessels