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Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome - Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Diagnosis & Tests

How is the disease diagnosed?

After doing a complete medical history and physical exam, the doctor may suspect ARDS. This is especially true when shortness of breath develops in a person who has had severe trauma or infection. Tests the doctor may order include:

arterial blood gases, to measure the level of oxygen in the blood

chest X-ray to visualize the structure and integrity of the lungs

a complete blood count, called CBC, to check for infection

culture of any fluid that has been drained from the lungs, to check for infection

pulmonary artery catheterization, which is a special X-ray test that looks at blood flow and blood pressure in the lungs

pulmonary function tests, which measure lung capacity and other vital functions

various tissue and blood cultures to check for the source of an infection

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