| Characteristic | |
| Age (years) | 48.6 (17.4) |
| Gender | |
| Female (n (%)) | 49 (33) |
| Male (n (%)) | 100 (67) |
| SAPS II | 44.3 (14.6) |
| APACHE II | 19.9 (7.8) |
| LIS | 2.6 (0.5) |
| Mechanical ventilation variables | |
| Vt (ml/kg PBW) | 7.6 (2.1) |
| PEEP (cm H2O) | 7.6 (3.0) |
| f | 22.5 (8.1) |
| Fio2 | 0.8 (0.2) |
| Pao2/Fio2 (kPa) | 19.2 (9.5) |
| OI (cm H2O/kPa) | 89.3 (59.3) |
| pH | 7.34 (0.1) |
| Base deficit | −3.44 (6.4) |
| Crs (ml/cm H2O) | 28.2 (10.3) |
| Aetiology of ALI/ARDS (n (%)) | |
| Pneumonia | 47 (32) |
| Sepsis | 33 (22) |
| Aspiration | 16 (11) |
| Probable TRALI | 11 (7) |
| Trauma | 10 (7) |
| Pancreatitis | 8 (5) |
| Other or unknown | 24 (16) |
| Underlying medical conditions (n (%)) | |
| Cirrhosis | 22 (14) |
| HIV/AIDS | 18 (12) |
| Heart transplant | 8 (5) |
| Metastatic cancer (solid tumour) | 7 (4) |
| Haematological cancer | 5 (3) |
| Bone marrow transplantation | 3 (2) |
Data are mean (SD) or n (%).
AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; ALI, acute lung injury; ARDS, acute respiratory distress syndrome; APACHE, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; Crs, respiratory system compliance; f, respiratory frequency; Fio2, inspired oxygen fraction; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; LIS, lung injury score; OI, oxygenation index; Pao2, arterial oxygen partial pressure; PBW, predicted body weight; PEEP, positive end expiratory pressure; SAPS II, Severe Acute Physiology Score II; TRALI, transfusion related lung injury; Vt, tidal volume.