sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
A 6-year-old child suffered respiratory failure, and the medical staff of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital stayed up all night to provide emergency assistance
Beijing News2024-05-29 11:13
On the morning of May 27, 20 days after being hospitalized, 6-year-old An An (pseudonym) finally recovered and was discharged from the hospital. Since being hospitalized for severe pneumonia on May 3, An An has experienced multiple challenges such as continuous high fever, low blood oxygen, and respiratory failure. Finally, he recovered under the full treatment of the pediatric ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) team of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital. At the discharge ceremony, medical staff prepared a cake for An An to celebrate his new life.
An An took a photo with medical staff before being discharged from the hospital. Source: Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital
The child was in critical condition, and the pediatric ECMO team rushed across the city to treat him overnight
At 23:30 on May 3, the Pediatric Department of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital received a call for help from the Pediatric Department of Suqian Hospital of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital: "A child is in critical condition due to respiratory failure and urgently needs ECMO technical support."
Medical staff at Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital introduced that ECMO is a technology that represents the level of critical care emergency treatment in a hospital or even a region. In layman's terms, it is a process of giving patients a second heart and lungs, drawing the patient's venous blood out of the body, and then returning it to the body after blood pump and membrane lung oxygenation, thereby partially replacing the original heart and lung functions.
It is reported that the child An An was hospitalized in Suqian due to severe pneumonia, and then developed symptoms of respiratory failure. After using a ventilator to assist ventilation, his blood oxygen level was still difficult to improve, and his life was in danger at any time. The pediatric ECMO team immediately launched an emergency rescue plan, and under the command of Lu Chao, director of the pediatric department of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital (vice president of Jiangsu Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital), started a high-speed rescue across 600 kilometers.
To ensure that the rescue is foolproof, the team has prepared sufficient essential rescue supplies. In addition to the ECMO pipeline, there are also tracheal tubes, deep venous catheters, gastric tubes, urinary catheters, etc. To ensure the normal operation of each instrument and the stability of the child's vital signs, the team has also prepared the intravenous medications, instruments, oxygen, power supplies, etc. required during the transfer process, and has made emergency plans for handling emergencies.
The ECMO team of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital set out from Longjiang Campus of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital in the early morning. Image source: Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital
Under the emergency coordination of the leadership, Medical Affairs Department, and General Office of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital, at 0:30 on May 4, a team including deputy chief physicians Zhang Ye, Miao Xiaolin, Xu Yunxian, and head nurse Zhu Haixia set off from the Longjiang Campus of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital in Nanjing.
On the way, the team members kept discussing the child's condition, catheterization method, computerization steps, how to quickly perform "extracorporeal membrane oxygenation" for the child, etc. At 3 o'clock, the team arrived at the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) of Suqian Hospital.
After arriving, the team experts immediately coordinated the treatment plan with the child's attending physician, performed a cardiac ultrasound examination, and assessed the child's vascular condition. Miao Xiaolin and Xu Yunxian placed catheters in the child's jugular vein and femoral vein to establish an extracorporeal membrane oxygenator. At 6:30 that day, good news came - ECMO was successfully started.
Doctors perform ECMO catheterization surgery. Source: Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital
The child was transferred to another hospital and was discharged 20 days later after recovery.
What is worrying is that An An's condition is very serious and complicated, and requires 24-hour shift support from an experienced ECMO team. A multidisciplinary team of experts must be on call at all times to respond to emergencies.
"ECMO treatment has a good therapeutic effect on fulminant myocarditis and respiratory failure in children. We have a mature and efficient pediatric ECMO team to ensure the health of the children." said Miao Xiaolin.
Out of consideration for An An's life safety, the ECMO team decided to transfer An An back to Nanjing. The long-distance transportation of nearly 300 kilometers one way required extra caution. After properly fixing the child's catheter, the ambulance began to transfer him back to Nanjing. After about 3 hours, at 12:30 on May 4, the transfer team successfully arrived at the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) of the Longjiang Campus of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital.
An An was safely transferred back to Nanjing. Source: Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital
After entering the PICU of Longjiang Hospital, An An's chest CT showed that An An also had pulmonary embolism and was in a very critical condition. In view of the child's condition, the pediatric team specially formulated a comprehensive treatment plan including anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, anti-infection, and fiber bronchoscopic alveolar lavage. Under the careful treatment of the medical team including Ding Rong, chief physician of the pediatric respiratory specialist, Miao Xiaolin and Lu Binbin, and Ren Yimei, the head nurse of the specialist department, An An's indicators gradually improved. On the afternoon of May 7, the ECMO was successfully removed. On the morning of May 8, the doctor stopped the ventilator for An An's assisted breathing treatment and switched to mask oxygenation. An An's vital signs were stable and he was transferred to the general ward for treatment in the afternoon.
"We had already made the worst-case scenario plan, but it was the efforts of the medical staff that gave us the best outcome. They are our family's benefactors," said An An's father.
Beijing News2024-05-29 11:13
On the morning of May 27, 20 days after being hospitalized, 6-year-old An An (pseudonym) finally recovered and was discharged from the hospital. Since being hospitalized for severe pneumonia on May 3, An An has experienced multiple challenges such as continuous high fever, low blood oxygen, and respiratory failure. Finally, he recovered under the full treatment of the pediatric ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) team of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital. At the discharge ceremony, medical staff prepared a cake for An An to celebrate his new life.
An An took a photo with medical staff before being discharged from the hospital. Source: Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital
The child was in critical condition, and the pediatric ECMO team rushed across the city to treat him overnight
At 23:30 on May 3, the Pediatric Department of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital received a call for help from the Pediatric Department of Suqian Hospital of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital: "A child is in critical condition due to respiratory failure and urgently needs ECMO technical support."
Medical staff at Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital introduced that ECMO is a technology that represents the level of critical care emergency treatment in a hospital or even a region. In layman's terms, it is a process of giving patients a second heart and lungs, drawing the patient's venous blood out of the body, and then returning it to the body after blood pump and membrane lung oxygenation, thereby partially replacing the original heart and lung functions.
It is reported that the child An An was hospitalized in Suqian due to severe pneumonia, and then developed symptoms of respiratory failure. After using a ventilator to assist ventilation, his blood oxygen level was still difficult to improve, and his life was in danger at any time. The pediatric ECMO team immediately launched an emergency rescue plan, and under the command of Lu Chao, director of the pediatric department of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital (vice president of Jiangsu Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital), started a high-speed rescue across 600 kilometers.
To ensure that the rescue is foolproof, the team has prepared sufficient essential rescue supplies. In addition to the ECMO pipeline, there are also tracheal tubes, deep venous catheters, gastric tubes, urinary catheters, etc. To ensure the normal operation of each instrument and the stability of the child's vital signs, the team has also prepared the intravenous medications, instruments, oxygen, power supplies, etc. required during the transfer process, and has made emergency plans for handling emergencies.
The ECMO team of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital set out from Longjiang Campus of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital in the early morning. Image source: Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital
Under the emergency coordination of the leadership, Medical Affairs Department, and General Office of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital, at 0:30 on May 4, a team including deputy chief physicians Zhang Ye, Miao Xiaolin, Xu Yunxian, and head nurse Zhu Haixia set off from the Longjiang Campus of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital in Nanjing.
On the way, the team members kept discussing the child's condition, catheterization method, computerization steps, how to quickly perform "extracorporeal membrane oxygenation" for the child, etc. At 3 o'clock, the team arrived at the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) of Suqian Hospital.
After arriving, the team experts immediately coordinated the treatment plan with the child's attending physician, performed a cardiac ultrasound examination, and assessed the child's vascular condition. Miao Xiaolin and Xu Yunxian placed catheters in the child's jugular vein and femoral vein to establish an extracorporeal membrane oxygenator. At 6:30 that day, good news came - ECMO was successfully started.
Doctors perform ECMO catheterization surgery. Source: Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital
The child was transferred to another hospital and was discharged 20 days later after recovery.
What is worrying is that An An's condition is very serious and complicated, and requires 24-hour shift support from an experienced ECMO team. A multidisciplinary team of experts must be on call at all times to respond to emergencies.
"ECMO treatment has a good therapeutic effect on fulminant myocarditis and respiratory failure in children. We have a mature and efficient pediatric ECMO team to ensure the health of the children." said Miao Xiaolin.
Out of consideration for An An's life safety, the ECMO team decided to transfer An An back to Nanjing. The long-distance transportation of nearly 300 kilometers one way required extra caution. After properly fixing the child's catheter, the ambulance began to transfer him back to Nanjing. After about 3 hours, at 12:30 on May 4, the transfer team successfully arrived at the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) of the Longjiang Campus of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital.
An An was safely transferred back to Nanjing. Source: Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital
After entering the PICU of Longjiang Hospital, An An's chest CT showed that An An also had pulmonary embolism and was in a very critical condition. In view of the child's condition, the pediatric team specially formulated a comprehensive treatment plan including anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, anti-infection, and fiber bronchoscopic alveolar lavage. Under the careful treatment of the medical team including Ding Rong, chief physician of the pediatric respiratory specialist, Miao Xiaolin and Lu Binbin, and Ren Yimei, the head nurse of the specialist department, An An's indicators gradually improved. On the afternoon of May 7, the ECMO was successfully removed. On the morning of May 8, the doctor stopped the ventilator for An An's assisted breathing treatment and switched to mask oxygenation. An An's vital signs were stable and he was transferred to the general ward for treatment in the afternoon.
"We had already made the worst-case scenario plan, but it was the efforts of the medical staff that gave us the best outcome. They are our family's benefactors," said An An's father.