Abstract
The plasma soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products (sRAGE) is a marker of lung epithelial injury with prognostic value when measured at baseline in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, whether changes in plasma sRAGE could inform prognosis in ARDS remains unknown. In this secondary analysis of the Lung Imaging for Ventilator Setting in ARDS (LIVE) multicenter randomized controlled trial, which evaluated a personalized ventilation strategy tailored to lung morphology, plasma sRAGE was measured upon study entry (baseline) and on days one, two, three, four and six. The association between changes in plasma sRAGE over time and 90-day survival was evaluated. Higher baseline plasma sRAGE (HR per-one log increment, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.16-2.03; p = 0.003) and an increase in sRAGE over time (HR for each one-log increment in plasma sRAGE per time unit, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.01-1.02; p < 10-3) were both associated with increased 90-day mortality. Each 100-unit increase in the plasma sRAGE level per unit of time increased the risk of death at day 90 by 1% in joint modeling. Plasma sRAGE increased over time when a strategy of maximal alveolar recruitment was applied in patients with focal ARDS. Current findings suggest that the rate of change in plasma sRAGE over time is associated with 90-day survival and could be helpful as a surrogate outcome in ARDS.