The Potential of ECMO - Usefullness in Treatment for Severe H1N1 Infection
Case description
The abbreviation ECMO stands for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, which is an extracorporeal device providing respiratory and circulatory support for people, whose heart and lungs are unable to provide enough blood oxygenation and perfusion for the organs, to sustain life. At first this intervention has mostly been used on children, but it is seeing more use in adults.
The ECMO works by removing the blood from the person's body, decarbonating and oxygenating it artificially and returning to the body. The indications of ECMO include acute severe cardiac or pulmonary failure, which is unresponsive to the conventional treatment but is also potentially reversible. The following video presents a untypicall use of ECMO in H1N1 infected patients, during the "Swine Flu" pandemics in years 2009-2010.
Video uploaded by Arie Blitz, MD.