Accuracy of clinical diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome in comparison with autopsy findings.

Objective: To compare the American-European Consensus Conference (AECC) definition of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) to autopsy findings.

Methods: All patients who died in the intensive care unit of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora University Hospital between 1995 and 2003 and were submitted to autopsy were included in the study. Patient clinical charts were reviewed to establish whether cases met the AECC criteria for a diagnosis of ARDS, histologically defined as the presence of diffuse alveolar damage (DAD).