Recently, ECMO team from Department of Cardiovascular Surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) published an article entitled "Recovery from respiratory failure after 49-day ECMO support in a critically ill patient with COVID-19: case report" in European Heart Journal-Case Report, first illustrating the experience of ECMO in the treatment of a critically ill patient with COVID-19.
A 66-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital due to fever (38.9℃), cough, dyspnea and headache. Laboratory examination found lymphocytopenia and leukopenia. Chest CT showed glass-like shadow and chronic inflammation in bilateral lungs. Throat swab test showed that she tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid. To rescue her life, the hospital set up a special treatment team and a bedside treatment team consisting of 8 physicians and 48 nurses to deliver emergent treatment around the clock. After 94-day effective treatment and 49-day EXMO support, the patient was successfully discharged. According to literature review, 49 days is the longest duration of ECMO use among COVID-19 patients discharged from hospital at home and abroad.
In this case report, the starting time of ECMO, complications and management strategies after starting ECMO, the timing of ECMO weaning and subsequent rehabilitation treatment were elaborated in details, especially highlighting the multidisciplinary team (MDT) cooperation experience and the system of twice consultations a day throughout ECMO treatment.
Professor Yan Yang and Professor Shi Tao, who are in charge of ECMO team in the First Affiliated Hospital of XJTU, are the corresponding authors. Guo Fengwei, Attending Physician and a key member of ECMO team, is the first author. Attending Physician Deng Chao, the front-line worker against COVID-19 from our hospital, is also listed as an author of this article.
This is another article published in the academic journals ofEuropean Society of Cardiology(ESC) after the team led by Professor Yan Yang from Department of Cardiovascular Surgery in our hospital published twoarticles inEuropean Heart Journaland its affiliatedjournal in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
