Objective To investigate the relationships of serum levels of long non-coding RNA antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (lncRNA ANRIL) and long non-coding RNA plasmacytoma variant translocation gene 1 (lncRNA PVT1) with the condition of disease and prognosis of children with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Methods A total of 124 children diagnosed with ARDS were selected as patient group, and another 124 healthy individuals undergoing physical examination during the same period were selected as control group. Children with ARDS were divided into severe group (34 cases), moderate group (42 cases), and mild group (48 cases) according to the severity of their condition. Based on prognosis, the children with ARDS were further categorized into poor prognosis group (55 cases) and good prognosis group (69 cases). Fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the serum levels of lncRNA ANRIL and lncRNA PVT1. Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the influencing factors for poor prognosis in children with ARDS, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to assess the predictive value of serum lncRNA ANRIL and lncRNA PVT1 levels for poor prognosis in these children.

Results The serum levels of lncRNA ANRIL and lncRNA PVT1 in the patient group were significantly higher than those in the control group. (P < 0.05). The serum levels of lncRNA ANRIL and lncRNA PVT1 increased with the severity of the condition in the mild, moderate and severe groups (P < 0.05). The serum levels of lncRNA ANRIL, lncRNA PVT1, oxygenation index (OI), respiratory rate and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ) score in the poor prognosis group were significantly higher than those in the good prognosis group (P < 0.05). OI, respiratory rate, lncRNA ANRIL and lncRNA PVT1 were identified as influencing factors for poor prognosis in children (P < 0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) for predicting poor prognosis in children with ARDS based on serum lncRNA ANRIL and lncRNA PVT1 levels was 0.827 and 0.737, respectively, with cutoff values of 11.35 and 4.36. The combined prediction had an AUC of 0.876, which was superior to the individual prediction of serum lncRNA ANRIL and lncRNA PVT1 levels (P < 0.05).

Conclusion The serum levels of lncRNA ANRIL and lncRNA PVT1 are upregulated in children with ARDS, and both lncRNA ANRIL and lncRNA PVT1 are influencing factors for poor prognosis. The combined prediction of these two markers has high value.