So what is ECMO? TNIE spoke to a cardiologist to find out what is an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (ECMO) and how it helps a patient in critical care
- ECMO is a machine that performs the function of the heart and lungs; it works by removing blood from a patient's body and doing the work of removing carbon dioxide from the blood and oxygenating the blood which is sent back into the body.
- The machine provides respiratory and cardiac support and is used to revive a patient, depending on their condition, after one has suffered a cardiac arrest
- A patient can usually be put on ECMO for a period of up to seven days, say doctors, after which there is a possibility that the patient would contract an infection
- Doctors constantly monitor patients on ECMO to ensure that they have not contracted any infection, and, depending on that, decide how many days to keep a patient on it.
- If signs of infection are seen, doctors recommend that the ECMO support is withdrawn
- Patients are said to have a 50 to 70 percent of survival in cases of reversible respiratory failure, according to some clinical trials