Mobile ECMO in COVID-19 patient: case report

• DOI: 10.1007/s10047-020-01209-5
• Publication Date: 2020-09-19T07:03:07Z
• Authors: Martínez Daniela; Salech Felipe; Sint Jan Van Nico...; Regueira Tomás; Villalabeitia Eli; Rufs Jorge; Fajardo Christian; Castillo Roberto; Iñiguez Jose; Durán Luisa; Díaz Rodrigo
• Keywords: Respiratory Distress Syndrome; Biomedical Engineering; Medicine (miscellaneous); COVID-19; Case Report; Middle Aged; COVID-19 (Enfermedad); 3. Good health; Biomaterials; 03 medical and health sciences; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation; Treatment Outcome; 0302 clinical medicine; COVID-19-HCUCH; Personal protective equipment; Mobile ECMO; Humans; ARDS; Female; ECMO; Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

At July 25, 2020, WHO had recorded more than 16.1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, 1% of them developed critical illness. These patients can experience rapid progression to profound hypoxemia and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Some patients, despite receiving lung-protective ventilation and maximal medical therapy, develop refractory hypoxemia, rendering candidates for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. Centers with experience in this technique are available only in a few reference hospitals and some patients are too ill to be transferred with conventional mechanical ventilation so they need mobile ECMO (interhospital transport under ECMO). Here we report the first interhospital extracorporeal membrane oxygenation transport of a COVID-19 patient in Chile, showing that it is feasible and safe to transfer a COVID-19 patient under ECMO support if a mobile ECMO program is correctly implemented and the particularities of protective measures are properly taken.