Aspirin for prevention of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS): let’s not throw the baby with the water!

Kor et al. recently published the results of the LIPS-A trial (1). In this national multicenter randomized controlled trial, early aspirin administration (325 mg loading dose then 81 mg/day for 7 days) was compared to placebo in terms of reduction of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) occurrence during the first week after inclusion of patients at risk for ARDS. Those patients were identified in the emergency department if they had a Lung Injury Prediction Score (LIPS) (2) greater than or equal to four without evidence for ARDS at that time. The main reason for exclusion was a previous treatment with antiplatelet therapy.