Now, a new study of 645 ARDS survivors by researchers at Intermountain Medical Center, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Utah, has identified subgroups of ARDS survivors who suffer what’s been called post-intensive care syndrome, a collection of symptoms that can linger for years.

“A lot of work has been done around post-intensive care syndrome. We’re realizing the people who are surviving are often terribly wounded, and they have emotional and psychological distress as severe as combat veterans returning from war,” said Samuel M. Brown, MD, lead author of the study and director of the Center for Humanizing Critical Care at Intermountain Medical Center. “They may have profound weakness or shortness of breath or other important limitations to their quality of life after they survive.”

Results of the new study, which was funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, are published inThorax, one of the world’s leading journals for specialists in respiratory and critical care medicine.