What is extracorporeal membrane oxygenation?
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, is a way of extracorporeal life support (ECLS), which leads blood out of the body through extracorporeal membrane lung and blood pump, and then returns to the body, thus effectively supporting all or part of patients with acute respiratory or circulatory failure.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and respiratory failure
The most commonly used respiratory support mode of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is V-VECMO, which is equivalent to providing an "artificial lung" for patients. Theoretically, this technique is suitable for all patients with severe respiratory failure.
A meta-analysis on the application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in the treatment of H 1N 1 influenza shows that with the help of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, the death risk of severe patients can be reduced to 27.54%.
In addition to respiratory failure caused by influenza pneumonia, acute severe pneumonia caused by other pathogenic microorganisms, acute respiratory distress caused by irritating gas inhalation and severe lung contusion can all be assisted by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation technology. Some patients with chronic end-stage lung disease can also use extracorporeal membrane oxygenation technology to get through the difficult period of waiting for lung transplantation.
The application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation also puts forward many new requirements for clinicians. Whether the center performs extracorporeal membrane oxygenation well depends on the level of the team.
In a word, whether extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can successfully save patients' lives depends on the treatment of primary disease, organ functions other than heart and lung, immune status, prevention and treatment of complications, team strength, cooperative management and economic situation. This is a complete chain, and problems in any link may be fatal.