Distrés Respiratorio y Ventilación Mecánica: Su historia.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) constitute an entity of very variable etiology known more than 30 years ago and to which many efforts have been devoted. They have made possible to know more about this illness allowing to gain knowledge in diagnose and treatment which have had different periods in the last fwe years. Artificial ventilation is the milestone in therapy after causal facing. Many advances have been achieved with the use of new techniques and ways of ventilation, that is nowadays in the distress differs much of what was done at the begining. Without any doubt the last 15 years have been revolutionary in this sense. They are accepted thelow volumes to avoid lung overdistention and PEEP to fight the atelectasis that are produced. This very last with great criteria variability because the topic studied, however  in this two measures  have obtained better moartality in an important way  but  it continues  to be  an entity  of high morbility  and mortality  in intensive care units in Cuba  and the world.