ECMO life-saving for critically ill corona patients: DAK

Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Thursday said Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine was life-saving for critically ill COVID19 patients.

“ECMO is saving people from the brink of death,” said DAKPresident, Dr Nisar ul Hassan. “ECMO is an advanced type of mechanical lifesupport that removes blood from the body, oxygenates and removes carbon dioxidefrom that blood, and then returns the blood to the body, allowing the patient’sdamaged lungs to recover.”

   

He said the machine improves the chances of survival indying patients compared to using conventional ventilation management.

Dr Hassan said conventional ventilator works by intermittentpositive-pressure ventilation where oxygen-enriched air is blown into lungs athigh pressure. “This in turn causes pressure injury to the lung tissue damagingfurther the already ravaged lungs of COVID19 patients, delaying or preventingtheir recovery,” he said. “While FDA has approved the use of ECMO as treatmentfor extreme cases of COVD19, WHO considers it as a rescue therapy for thosecases who fail to maintain oxygenation on conventional ventilation.”

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