A Fourteen-day Experience with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS): An Iranian Treatment Protocol

COVID-19 is currently causing concern in the medical community as the virus is spreading around the world. It has a heavy global burden, particularly in low-income countries. The clinical spectrum of COVID-19 pneumonia ranges from mild to critically ill cases and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. An expert panel was held and an internal protocol was developed to manage the COVID-19 induced ARDS according to WHO recommendations and NIH guidelines. Different therapeutic regimens were employed on this protocol based on the ARDS severity and the patients’ special characteristics. The mortality rate, the rate of survivors, and non-survivors were reported. Of the 231 suspected cases of COVID-19 admitted to the hospital during two weeks, 72 patients were admitted to ICU with diagnosis confirmed by RT-PCR. In total, mortality in the ICU was 25% (n = 18) among ARDS patients over two weeks. COVID-19 induced ARDS is a major concern. The rapid progression of ARDS needs specific protocol based on patients’ characteristics and rapid action.