Effect of Altitude on the Evolution of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

The purpose of this piece of research is to assess the effect of altitude on the clinical evolution of ARDS. For this purpose, patients who live and receive care at sea level are compared with those who live and receive care at high altitudes. For reasons of convenience, a cut-point of 1500 meters above sea level was chosen. In addition to this, it will be sought to assess whether adjusting the cut-points for the severity categories of ARDS improves the ability to predict some adverse events, by comparison with unadjusted cut-points. The results of this research will probably be disruptive, and will provide the first information yet about the effect of altitude on ARDS; they will therefore be of great interest for the international scientific community and for the direct care of patients. A high bibliometric impact is to be expected.