Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Apr 23: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) today said Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine is life-saving for critically ill COVID-19 patients.
”ECMO is saving people from the brink of death,” DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan said.
He said that ECMO is an advanced type of mechanical life support that removes blood from the body, “oxygenates and removes carbon dioxide from that blood, and then returns the blood to the body, allowing the patient’s damaged lungs to recover.”
He said that the machine improves the chances of survival in dying patients compared to using conventional ventilation management.
Citing a study, he said 63 per cent patients with severe respiratory failure survived without disability on ECMO compared to 47 per cent of those who were assigned conventional management.
Dr Nisar said most COVID-19 patients who end up on conventional ventilators go on to die, according to several studies from US, China and Europe.
“A study from UK found that of 98 ventilated patients, just 33 were discharged alive,” he said adding that “the numbers from another study of Wuhan, China are even grimmer. Only 3 of 22 ventilated patients survived.”
Dr Nisar said conventional ventilator works by intermittent positive-pressure ventilation where oxygen-enriched air is blown into the lungs at high pressure. “This in turn causes pressure injury to the lung tissue damaging further the already ravaged lungs of COVID-19 patients, delaying or preventing their recovery,” he said.
”While FDA has approved the use of ECMO as treatment for extreme cases of COVD-19, WHO considers it as a rescue therapy for those cases who fail to maintain oxygenation on conventional ventilation,” he said.
He said said we have one ECMO machine installed at SKIMS hospital, but it has not been put to use yet.
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