Korean J Crit Care Med.  2014 Feb;29(1):48-51. 10.4266/kjccm.2014.29.1.48.

One Hundred Seven Days of ECMO as a Bridge to Lung Transplantation: The Longest Duration Among Elderly Patients

• Kim EJ
• Paik HC
• Park MS
• Kim MH
• Koh SO
• Lee YJ
• Na S

• KMID: 2227804
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2014.29.1.48

Abstract

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a means for supporting adequate gas exchange in patients with severe respiratory failure and is the only therapeutic option for ventilation-refractory patients awaiting lung transplantation. Moreover, defining the patients likely to benefit from ECMO as a bridge to transplantation has recently become a point of interest. Here, we report a case of prolonged ECMO support to a patient awaiting lung transplantation. A 66-year-old woman was diagnosed with acute interstitial pneumonia and was placed on veno-venous (VV) ECMO due to unsatisfactory gas exchange despite maximal ventilator care. She underwent bilateral lung transplantation after 99 days of ECMO and was successfully weaned from it on the 107th ECMO day. This is the longest period of ECMO support to be reported among elderly patients.

Keyword

extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; lung transplantation; respiratory insufficiency

MeSH Terms

Aged*
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation*
Female
Humans
Lung Diseases, Interstitial
Lung Transplantation*
Lung*
Respiratory Insufficiency
Ventilators, Mechanical