Microvascular injury, inflammation, and coagulation play critical roles in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI). Plasma protein C levels are decreased in patients with acute lung injury and are associated with higher mortality and fewer ventilator-free days.
Division of Nephrology and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Box 0532, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0532, USA. kathleen.liu@ucsf.edu