Over the last several months, Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) has been used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. In a recent study, 40 consecutive patients between the ages of 22 and 64 years of age were place on ECMO as a treatment for respiratory related complications originating from COVID-19. All 40 patients were able to be fully disconnected from their ventilators. Six of the 40 patients died despite the various treatments that were administered. As of July 17 2020, 29 of the 40 patients were successfully discharged from the hospital and sent home.
The first use of ECMO was recorded in the 1960s and was mainly used on pediatric patients with severe respiratory related complications. ECMO provides prolonged cardiac and respiratory support when a patient’s heart and lungs are damaged or are failing. Using ECMO allows the patient’s heart and lungs to rest and heal while still maintaining adequate perfusion and oxygenation. ECMO is achieved by inserting canula tubing into the patient’s femoral veins and arteries. Through these tubes the patient’s blood is taken out of his or her body, run through the ECMO machine where it is oxygenated and filtered, and then placed back into the patient’s body to be circulated. When using ECMO, patients do not need to be placed on a ventilator. There are many benefits of placing a patient on an ECMO machine versus keeping the patient on a ventilator, one of which is that the patient does not need a tracheostomy or need to be intubated.
While the use of ECMO for COVID-19 patients is fairly new and is still being studied, the study demonstrated some promising results. Click here for more information.
References
Mustafa, Asif K., Philip J. Alexander, Devang J. Joshi, et al. “Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Patients with COVID-19 in Severe Respiratory Failure.” JAMA Surgery. August 11, 2020.
