The diagnosis of miliary TB was made based on: equality of the size, distribution, density miliary-like nodules bilaterally diffused on chest radiography by at least 2 independent of radiologists. Pulmonary TB was confirmed by at least one of the three following criteria:1)positive AFB smear and/or culture for M. tuberculosis from respiratory specimes;2) histopathological identification of TB granulomain in biopsied tissues of lung, and/or pleura;3)clinical and radiographic improvement after anti-tuberculosis treatment [4] . The diagnosis of ARDS was made in accordance to the diagnostic criteria of European-American Consensus Conference on ARDS [12] :acute in onset with PaO 2 /FiO 2 ≤ 200mmHg, bilateral infiltrates seen on chest radiograph, and pulmonary artery wedge pressure ≤ 18 mm Hg. Survivors were defined as patients who survived to discharge from hospital. Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), H1N1 Influenza A,and procalcitonin (PCT) positive were excluded.