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Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives - ECMO Treatment

tetano

tetano

Editor, Senior Moderator
This is the machine on which your life could depend upon if you are struck down by swine flu. The treatment of last resort is delivered by a battery of pumps and monitors, festooned with tubes and wires, to patients with the severest illness, whose inflamed and congested lungs have ceased to function under assault from the virus.

The first thing that strikes the visitor to London's only Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (Ecmo) unit, in the intensive care ward at the Royal Brompton Hospital, is the youth of its patients. In the first bed a young pregnant woman, her cheeks aflame, lies sleeping. Two thick plastic tubes emerge from her chest at the base of her neck, one carrying bright scarlet blood, freshly oxygenated, back to her body, the other dull bluish blood on its way to the Ecmo machine.

She will lie like this, heavily sedated, for seven to 10 days while her lungs recover. Some patients take up to 40 days. She is receiving five drugs, including morphine for pain relief and Tamiflu to combat the H1N1 virus which has invaded her body. Her life, and that of her unborn child, hang in the balance.

..


http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...-saves-swine-flu-sufferers-lives-2165495.html
 
Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

Are there something indicating use of intravenous zanamivir or peramivir?
 
Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

ironorehopper said:
Are there something indicating use of intravenous zanamivir or peramivir?
Click to expand...


I doubt it, but I didn't test the application for the most severe symptoms.

This seems to be a screening tool that helps the public to decide whether or not to grin and bear it, or seek help.

Likely the end result of the program is "get thee to a hospital" for a severe case, without recommending particular treatments.

It would be interesting to see the algorithm, and to compare it on that basis to other onlilne diagnosis services.

J.
 
Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

The overall situation in UK is different from last year at the same time (December 2009), when H1N1 (2009) was circulating at low level compared to summer wave.

I posted in UK main thread several graphs and tables comparing Dec. 2009 surveillance for ILI and hospitalization / ICU admission with Dec. 2010: current numbers are resembling more 1999/2000 year than 2009/2010 because in the pandemic year the peak happened well before the usual seasonal winter epidemics.

Overall number of ICU and hospitalized patient admissions seem to not exceed pandemic peak levels, so far.
 
Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

ironorehopper said:
Overall number of ICU and hospitalized patient admissions seem to not exceed pandemic peak levels, so far.
Click to expand...

As soon as you said it ...

Over 300 people in intensive care with flu

"Government figures show that [ICU] 302 beds are now occupied by flu patients. Last week 182 beds were being used."


"At the peak of last year's epidemic, 180 people were in critical care with confirmed or suspected flu, including swine flu."
 
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Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

JJackson said:
As soon as you said it ...

Over 300 people in intensive care with flu

"Government figures show that 302 beds are now occupied by flu patients. Last week 182 beds were being used."


"At the peak of last year's epidemic, 180 people were in critical care with confirmed or suspected flu, including swine flu."
Click to expand...

For example in the August 13 2009 HPA Update we can read this:

(...)

SEVERITY

Disease severity continues to be monitored. The disease is generally mild in most people so far, but is proving severe in a small minority of cases.

Swine flu hospitalisations in England: 371 patients (currently hospitalised as of 8am on 12 August)

Deaths - the number of deaths related to swine flu in England is 44.

(This figure represents the number of deaths in individuals with swine flu but does not represent the number of deaths that can be attributed to swine flu).

Source: http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1250148894409?p=1231252394302
 
Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

Hospitalized is different than in ICU
 
Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

I am assuming that they are using 'intensive care' and 'critical care' interchangeably, but as you say just being hospitalised is a much lower threshold.
As this, H1N1(2009), is rather specific in the effect it has on patients the ratio of ICU bed to ward occupancy is high (as is the ECMO to ICU). Last year (from memory) the ward to ICU ratio was typically 10:1.
 
Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

JJackson said:
I am assuming that they are using 'intensive care' and 'critical care' interchangeably, but as you say just being hospitalised is a much lower threshold.
As this, H1N1(2009), is rather specific in the effect it has on patients the ratio of ICU bed to ward occupancy is high (as is the ECMO to ICU). Last year (from memory) the ward to ICU ratio was typically 10:1.
Click to expand...

From an ECDC update of last year (the URL is on the main UK thread):

For the current week, United Kingdom* (17.12.2009) - Hospitalized patients: 523 - In ICU: 113

* Data includes information for England only. Other cumulative hospitalisations are: Scotland (1423), Wales (433) and Northern Ireland (573).
 
Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

Re: Inside the hospital that saves swine flu sufferers' lives

"critical care" and "intensive care" have the same meaning, we need to see if the newspapers are reporting correctly
 
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