Authors: Henry MB, Lippi G
PMID: 32279018 PMCID: PMC7118619 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrc.2020.03.011
Abstract
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can induce acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which can progress to refractory pulmonary failure. In such cases, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) may be considered as a rescue therapy. In a study of ECMO for ARDS in patients with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a similar coronavirus disease emerged in 2012, a significant decrease of in-hospital mortality rate and length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay was found in patients treated with ECMO compared to those managed with conventional therapy [1]. However, with COVID-19, concerns have been raised about high mortality rate observed in an early report which included data on ECMO in infected patients [2]. It has been suggested that the compounded immunologic insult by both infection and extracorporeal circuit may counterbalance or even offset survival benefits [2]. In this article, we aimed to evaluate ECMO mortality as reported in early COVID-19 epidemiological studies.
Keywords: Acute respiratory distress syndrome; COVID-19; Coronavirus; Extracorporeal life support.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32279018/
Archive: https://archive.ph/M0zST