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Condition (MeSH)

Respiratory Distress Syndrome

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 1,473 trials for Respiratory Distress Syndrome or a narrower condition beneath it.

MeSH D012128 Respiratory Tract Diseases C08 Listed by Orphanet as a rare disease
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Phase 1 Phase 1 58 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 49 Phase 2 Phase 2 154 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 24 Phase 3 Phase 3 111 Phase 4 Phase 4 55 Not applicable Not applicable 513 Observational Observational 502 Phase 1 Phase 1 58 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 49 Phase 2 Phase 2 154 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 24 Phase 3 Phase 3 111 Phase 4 Phase 4 55 Not applicable Not applicable 513 Observational Observational 502

Trials per phase (log scale)

2 more sections with rows

1,338 of the 1,473 trials are tagged with Respiratory Distress Syndrome itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

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The PDF carries up to 50 rows of each section, where the page shows the first few, with the sources listed. Enter a work email and confirm it from the message we send, and the report follows by email.

When did Respiratory Distress Syndrome trials start? (37)

Shown in this order: most recent first, 1990 onwards. 2026 is partial: trials registered with a 2026 start date so far, not a full year. 4 trials are registered to start in 2027 or later, and not listed here.

Trials over time, by phase

  • Phase 1
  • Phase 1/2
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 2/3
  • Phase 3
  • Phase 4
  • Not applicable
  • Observational
  • Other (Unknown)

Top of scale: 260

1990: 1 trials (Phase 3 1) 1991: 2 trials (Not applicable 1, Phase 2/3 1) 1992: 1 trials (Phase 3 1) 1993: 2 trials (Phase 3 2) 1994: 2 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 1) 1995: 2 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 1) 1996: 2 trials (Observational 1, Phase 1/2 1) 1997: 2 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 1) 1998: 4 trials (Not applicable 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 1 1) 1999: 1 trials (Phase 2 1) 2000: 4 trials (Observational 1, Phase 3 3) 2001: 8 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 1, Phase 1/2 2) 2002: 4 trials (Observational 1, Not applicable 2, Phase 3 1) 2003: 10 trials (Observational 2, Not applicable 5, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 1) 2004: 20 trials (Observational 7, Not applicable 4, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 3, Phase 1 2) 2005: 14 trials (Not applicable 3, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 2, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 5, Phase 1 1) 2006: 18 trials (Observational 3, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 1, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 2) 2007: 33 trials (Observational 10, Not applicable 11, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 5, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 3, Phase 1 1) 2008: 30 trials (Observational 9, Not applicable 10, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 2, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 4, Phase 1 1) 2009: 28 trials (Observational 8, Not applicable 10, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 2) 2010: 32 trials (Observational 12, Not applicable 9, Phase 3 4, Phase 2 6, Phase 1 1) 2011: 37 trials (Observational 13, Not applicable 6, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 2, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 4) 2012: 53 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 21, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 8, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 3) 2013: 38 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 16, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 2, Phase 1 2) 2014: 47 trials (Observational 15, Not applicable 18, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 6, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 3) 2015: 43 trials (Observational 14, Not applicable 18, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 2, Phase 1 2) 2016: 49 trials (Observational 17, Not applicable 20, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 5, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1) 2017: 71 trials (Observational 27, Not applicable 31, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 2018: 52 trials (Observational 25, Not applicable 24, Phase 4 1, Phase 2 1, Phase 1 1) 2019: 68 trials (Observational 29, Not applicable 26, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 2) 2020: 260 trials (Other 1, Observational 90, Not applicable 61, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 22, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 44, Phase 1/2 17, Phase 1 11) 2021: 102 trials (Observational 30, Not applicable 37, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 7, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 19, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 3) 2022: 83 trials (Observational 31, Not applicable 30, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 8, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 5) 2023: 91 trials (Observational 32, Not applicable 41, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 2, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 5) 2024: 90 trials (Observational 39, Not applicable 33, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 4, Phase 1/2 4, Phase 1 2) 2025: 72 trials (Observational 29, Not applicable 30, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 4, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 5, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1)

Trials registered with a start date in each year, 1990 onward, stacked by phase (complete years only; the current partial year is in the table's notes). The table below lists the same counts, most recent years first.

Trials started per year
Year Trials started
2026 (partial year) 80
2025 72
2024 90
2023 91
2022 83
2021 102
2020 260
2019 68
2018 52
2017 71

Showing 10 of 37 earlier years.

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Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 99 trials starting in 2026 and about 86 in 2027, the average of the 24 months through September, counted as registered and carried forward, with about 0.7 times the starts already registered for the rest of 2026 added. The rows of this table count trials registered so far with a start date in the year, planned starts included; the forecast looks ahead to the count for the whole year, so it is not the same measure. In backtests on conditions of this size, forecasts made part-way through the year were typically off by about 15 percent and ran about 1 percent high against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 26 percent and ran about 20 percent low against the count later registered. The part-way figures are from forecasts that used a multiple fitted only on earlier years. These figures rest on a few years of history (target years from 2018 to 2025, varying by figure), place each condition as it is mapped today rather than as it was then, and score against a count for the newest year that was still being revised. Only condition series were scored.

Prediction, not a registry value: median of 32 months from start to primary completion across 117 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 19 months across 826 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Respiratory Distress Syndrome trials in? (10)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 58
Phase 1/2 49
Phase 2 154
Phase 2/3 24
Phase 3 111
Phase 4 55
Not applicable 513
Observational 502
Expanded access 6
Unknown 1

How many Respiratory Distress Syndrome trials are recruiting? (11)

Shown in this order: the order a trial moves through, from not yet recruiting to unknown.

Trials by recruitment status
Status Trials
Not yet recruiting 70
Recruiting 156
Enrolling by invitation 12
Active, not recruiting 19
Available 2

Showing 5 of 11 statuses.

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Status as registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Each trial is counted once.

Which lead sponsors run the most Respiratory Distress Syndrome trials? (3)

Shown in this order: most trials first. Lead sponsors the registry classes as industry, NIH, US federal, other government or network. A hospital or university the registry files as government can appear here. Sponsors it classes as academic or other are shown on the full page, because that class cannot separate an institution from a named investigator.

Lead sponsors
Sponsor Trials
NICHD Neonatal Research Network 11
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) 11
University Hospital, Angers 9

Which drugs are being tested for Respiratory Distress Syndrome? (5)

Shown in this order: most trials first. One row per drug, matched to a single molecule under all its names, ranked by number of trials.

Drugs tested
Drug Trials
Poractant Alfa 13
METHYLPREDNISOLONE 10
Betamethasone 8
Calfactant 7
PROPOFOL 6

Interventions as named in the registry (10)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Dexamethasone/Dexamethasone acetate 15
nCPAP 15
mechanical ventilation (MV) 9
Budesonide EC 9
Surfactant 6

Showing 5 of 10 interventions.

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These are the names sponsors entered on ClinicalTrials.gov that we have not matched to a single molecule. Some are drugs under a brand or code name; others are procedures, doses or arm labels.

Which serious adverse events do Respiratory Distress Syndrome trials report? (10)

Shown in this order: most subjects affected first. Subjects affected summed across trials, a cross-trial signal, not a rate.

Serious adverse events in this condition's trials
Adverse event Subjects affected Trials
Respiratory failure 279 20
COVID-19 232 9
Pneumothorax 171 27
Septic shock 170 18
Acute respiratory failure 169 10

Showing 5 of 10 adverse events.

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Which publications cover Respiratory Distress Syndrome? (1,983)

Shown in this order: major-topic papers first, then newest, then most linked to trials.

Publications
Publication Journal Year Major topic
A prospective clinical evaluation of new ECCO2R technology in mild to moderate ARDS patients: assessing ultra-lung-protective ventilation with PRISMALUNG. Critical care (London, England) 2026 Yes
Multi-modal data to identify key factors influencing lung injury in ARDS patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation: A prospective multi-center observational study protocol. PloS one 2026 Yes
Electrical impedance tomography for PEEP titration in ARDS patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of clinical monitoring and computing 2025 Yes
Infant feeding and criticality in children. Nursing in critical care 2025 Yes
Physiologic Comparison of Airway Pressure Release Ventilation and Low Tidal Volume Ventilation in ARDS: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Chest 2025 Yes

Showing 5 of 1,983 publications.

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Prevalence (8)

Shown in this order: jurisdiction, then disease name. Orphanet observation for the mapped ORPHA concept; the mapping relation column says whether that concept is exactly this condition or broader or narrower.

Prevalence
Orphanet disease Type Class Geography Jurisdiction Mapping relation
Adult acute respiratory distress syndrome Annual incidence 6-9 / 10 000 United States US Unspecified
Adult acute respiratory distress syndrome Point prevalence 1-5 / 10 000 United States US Unspecified
Adult acute respiratory distress syndrome Annual incidence 1-5 / 10 000 Iceland Not stated Unspecified
Adult acute respiratory distress syndrome Annual incidence 1-9 / 100 000 Spain Not stated Unspecified
Adult acute respiratory distress syndrome Point prevalence 1-5 / 10 000 Europe Not stated Unspecified

Showing 5 of 8 prevalence observations.

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Sub-conditions in MeSH (1)

MeSH descendants one level down with at least one trial, most trials first.

Not on this page

Not measured: delivery record.

Checked, with nothing recorded for this condition: rare-disease identity.

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