Development and validation of a computational simulator for pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome patients.

This paper presents the adaptation of an advanced cardiorespiratory model of acute respiratory distress syndrome in adult patients to pediatric pathophysiology. We describe how model equations and parameters were revised to represent the physiological characteristics of pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) patients. The adapted model was matched to data from twelve mechanically ventilated patients diagnosed with Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (PARDS), and was shown to reproduce the available clinical data accurately for all patients. This new model constitutes the first detailed computational simulator specifically tailored to PARDS patients, and can be used as an investigational tool for developing and evaluating novel therapeutic strategies.