Open AccessExtracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Patients With COVID-19
Author(s) -
Jayakumar Sreenivasan,
Sagar Ranka,
Shubham Lahan,
Ahmed AbuHaniyeh,
Heyi Li,
Risheek Kaul,
Aaqib H Malik,
Wilbert S. Aronow,
William H. Frishman,
Steven Lansman
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
cardiology in review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.784
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1538-4683
pISSN - 1061-5377
DOI - 10.1097/crd.0000000000000410
Subject(s) - medicine , ards , extracorporeal membrane oxygenation , intensive care medicine , mechanical ventilation , pneumonia , covid-19 , asymptomatic , disease , lung , surgery , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by a clinical spectrum of diseases ranging from asymptomatic or mild cases to severe pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) requiring mechanical ventilation. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used as rescue therapy in appropriate patients with COVID-19 complicated by ARDS refractory to mechanical ventilation. In this study, we review the indications, challenges, complications, and clinical outcomes of ECMO utilization in critically ill patients with COVID-19-related ARDS. Most of these patients required venovenous ECMO. Although the risk of mortality and complications is very high among patients with COVID-19 requiring ECMO, it is similar to that of non-COVID-19 patients with ARDS requiring ECMO. ECMO is a resource-intensive therapy, with an inherent risk of complications, which makes its availability limited and its use challenging in the midst of a pandemic. Well-maintained data registries, with timely reporting of outcomes and evidence-based clinical guidelines, are necessary for the careful allocation of resources and for the development of standardized utilization protocols.