Diffuse alveolar damage is a histological pattern in lung disease. It is seen in acute respiratory distress syndrome

Acute respiratory distress syndrome

Acute respiratory distress syndrome , also known as respiratory distress syndrome or adult respiratory distress syndrome is a serious reaction to various forms of injuries to the lung....

 (ARDS), transfusion related acute lung injury

Transfusion related acute lung injury

In medicine, transfusion related acute lung injury is a serious blood transfusion complication characterized by the acute onset of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema following transfusion of blood products....

 (TRALI) and acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP).

Prevalence

It is a common biopsy

Biopsy

A biopsy is a medical test involving sampling of cells or tissues for examination. It is the medical removal of tissue from a living subject to determine the presence or extent of a disease. The tissue is generally examined under a microscope by a pathologist, and can also be analyzed chemically...

 finding. Through histology, diffuse alveolar damage goes through several stages:

1) Exudative phase - similar to pulmonary oedema. The alveoli become flooding with transudate
2) Hyaline

Hyaline

The term hyaline denotes a substance with a glass-like appearance.-Histopathology:In histopathological medical usage, a hyaline substance appears glassy and pink after being stained with haematoxylin and eosin — usually it is an acellular, proteinaceous material...

 membrane production. Hyaline membranes are fibrous structures laid down in order to stop oxygen being absorbed via the damaged alveoli.
3) Organising phase

Etiology

Diffuse alveolar damage is associated primarily with ARDS and TRALI in adults, and hyaline membrane disease in neonates.
It is most commonly associated with infection

Infection

An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...

.

External links

• Gross pathology of DAD - utah.edu.
• Microscopic pathology of DAD - utah.edu.