symptoms begin with signs of respiratory distress, crackles, increased respiratory rate, dyspnea, retractions, and possible expiratory grunting. the patient may also have signs of pulmonary edema, such as frothy pink secretions. those patients who have conditions that predispose them to the development of ARDS should be carefully monitored for early recognition of the syndrome. initially hyperventilation causes hypocapnia and respiratory alkalosis. as the disease progresses, arterial oxygenation begins to worsen to hypoxic levels, becoming resistant to patient becomes acidotic. compliance begins to worsen as the lungs become stiffer . crackles and rhonchi become more apparent during the acute stage of the disease. Meconium is dark-green fecal
