Urine Test Helps Predict Lung Injury Outcome

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An application for federal funding of such a study is being made, he said.

The nitric oxide urine test "can't function on its own, but it is a promising biomarker," Matthay said. "What we are currently testing, our group and others, is the additive value of this test to standard clinical assessments to determine the value of identifying patients' prognosis."

"The finding is pretty intriguing because of the close association with increased survival," noted Dr. Herbert P. Wiedemann, chairman of pulmonary, allergy and critical care medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. "This study is preliminary and hypothesis-generating. It provides an avenue for future investigation."

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The test might not necessarily affect treatment of ARDS patients, he said, because the critical nature of the condition means that "normally we treat them all the same."

"But it could perhaps be a marker of prognosis, and that would be very helpful," Wiedemann said. "At this point, we don't have good markers of prognosis."

The test is also valuable because "it helps us understand the causes of mortality in ARDS, so it will help us investigate new therapies," he said.

More information

For more on ARDS, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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