VEGFA and acute respiratory distress syndrome: Moreover, ARDS/ALI patients had lower levels of IL-12 (SMD: −1.47; P < 0.001), surfactant protein D (SP-D) (SMD: −1.17; P = 0.012), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (SMD: −4.52; P < 0.001) in the bronchial alveolar lavage fluid (BALF).