Acute Med Surg . Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and prone ventilation for therapeutic management of COVID-19

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Acute Med Surg


. 2020 Jul 27;7(1):e546.
doi: 10.1002/ams2.546. eCollection Jan-Dec 2020.
Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and prone ventilation for therapeutic management of COVID-19


Takehiko Kasai ¹ , Naofumi Bunya ¹ , Kenshiro Wada ¹ , Ryuichiro Kakizaki ¹ , Hirotoshi Mizuno ¹ , Hiroyuki Inoue ¹ , Shuji Uemura ¹ , Satoshi Takahashi ² , Eichi Narimatsu ¹ , Shinhiro Takeda ³ , Japan ECMOnet for COVID‐19



Affiliations

• PMID: 32793357
• PMCID: PMC7419213
• DOI: 10.1002/ams2.546

Abstract

Background: The efficacy and safety of the combined use of veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and prone ventilation are currently not known for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Case presentation: We report two cases in which the combination of veno-venous ECMO and prone ventilation for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia were successfully carried out. Both patients had developed severe respiratory failure due to SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, thus requiring veno-venous ECMO. Prone ventilation was also administered safely.
Conclusion: Oxygenation and lung compliance gradually improved during prone ventilation, and both patients were successfully extubated. For patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia who require veno-venous ECMO, the use of prone ventilation could be beneficial, and should be considered.

Keywords: Acute respiratory distress syndrome; COVID‐19; SARS‐CoV‐2; extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; prone ventilation.