How long does it take untreated pneumonia to turn into acute respiratory distress syndrome?

Hours to days: Pneumonia can cause respiratory distress in a matter of hours to days. Some cases of pneumonia can be very mild and might not cause significant respiratory symptoms even if untreated. Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can occur due to any number of conditions, pneumonia is just one of them. It can happen within minutes or hours of the trigger.

It's variable...: Most patients with pneumonia do not develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ards). ARDS can be caused by a variety of things (including infection), and it can occur rapidly (in less than an hour) or it can take days.