We report the severity, clinical outcomes, and hospital charges of ALI/ARDS secondary to pandemic influenza A infection compared with ALI/ARDS from other etiologies during a similar period of time. Based on clinical bedside observations and published reports [4, 5, 8] , we hypothesize that ALI/ARDS secondary to pandemic influenza is associated with similar ICU outcomes but increased resource utilization and higher hospital charges due to the frequent need for rescue interventions and prolonged ventilatory assistance.