Macrolides in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Acute Lung Injury

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening condition caused by injury to the lungs. Despite increased knowledge of the immunopathogenesis and advances and improvements in supportive care in clinical management (e.g., lung protection strategies), the mortality remains high at approximately 40%. Despite over 55 years of preclinical and clinical trials, there are no effective pharmacotherapies to improve the outcomes in patients with ARDS, thus necessitating novel therapeutic agents. Macrolides are antibiotics with potent immunomodulatory properties and may be beneficial in ARDS by reversing the dysregulated immune response in ARDS.