ObjectiveTo summarize and analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with acute diffuse lung changes and respiratory failure.MethodsThe clinical data of patients in the Department of Critical Care Medicine, Dazhou Central Hospital between January 2016 and December 2018 were retrospectively collected, whose main clinical manifestation was acute respiratory distress syndrome with acute onset (<3 weeks) and main imaging manifestation was diffuse changes in both lungs. The clinical characteristics of patients were summarized, and the causes of the disease were explored.ResultsA total of 65 patients with acute diffuse lung changes and respiratory failure were enrolled, including 42 males (64.6%) and 23 females (35.4%). The average age was (57.1±18.4) years, the average time from onset to treatment was (7.5±5.9) d, and the average length of stay in the intensive care unit was (8.9±4.1) d. A total of 23 cases died, with a case-fatality rate of 35.4%. Among the 65 patients, there were 50 case (76.9%) of infectious diseases, including 36 cases of bacterial infections (including 4 cases of tuberculosis), 8 cases of viral infections (all were H1N1 infections), and 6 cases of fungal infections (including 1 case of pneumocystis infection); and there were 15 cases (23.1%) of non-infectious diseases, including 4 cases of acute left heart failure, 2 cases of interstitial pneumonia, 2 cases of vasculitis, 1 case of myositis dermatomyositis, 1 case of aspiration pneumonia, 1 case of acute pulmonary embolism, 1 case of acute drug lung injury, 1 case of neurogenic pulmonary edema, 1 case of drowning, and 1 case of unknown origin.ConclusionsInfectious diseases are the main cause of acute diffuse lung changes and respiratory failure, while among non-infectious diseases, acute heart failure and immune system diseases are common causes.