ASpirin as a Treatment for ARDS (STAR): a Phase 2 Randomised Control Trial

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) causes the lungs to fail due to the collection of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary oedema). ARDS is common in severely ill patients in Intensive Care Units and is associated with a high mortality and a high morbidity in those who survive. There is a large economic burden with direct healthcare costs, but also indirectly due to the impact on the carer and patient through their inability to return to full time employment. There is little evidence for effective drug (pharmacological) treatment for ARDS. Blood cells called platelets have increasingly been recognized to play a key role in the development of ARDS. There is increasing information that aspirin, a drug which is widely used to treat heart disease, might be important in treating ARDS. We plan to test if aspirin will help in the treatment of ARDS. To do this we will divide patients suffering from ARDS into two groups, one of which will get aspirin and the other a harmless dummy (or placebo) tablet who will then be followed up to determine if lung function improves. If effective this may lead to further research to determine if aspirin is effective in patients with ARDS. This project will also provide new information about mechanisms in the development of ARDS leading, potentially, to other new treatments.