Understanding Acute Lung Injury. Translational Research Meeting of the French Intensive Care Society (December 6th, 2016)

The 2016 translational research meeting of the French Intensive Care Society was focused on lung defense and repair. The lung represents a crucial interface between the host and the environment, and is therefore constantly prone to various insults. The development of critical care medicine was largely linked to the management of acute respiratory failure. Beyond etiological treatments and ventilatory support, the potentially harmful effects of unleashed pulmonary inflammation in critically ill patients led researchers to assess the benefits of adjuvant immunomodulatory therapies. The development of such innovative treatments not only depends on a better understanding of the pathophysiology of acute lung injury, but also required the validation of dynamic assessment tools to be used at the bedside.