| Abstract [eng] |
Introduction Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is an emergency medical procedure that can maintain breathing and/or circulation in critical patients. It does not serve as a therapy for the underlying disease, but supports the vital functions in order to create a time window for further therapy. Increasing experience and optimised equipment have made ECMO a more reliable technique over the last 20 years. In addition, the possible duration of therapy and the number of indications have also increased. ECMO therapy is a promising therapy, but it also involves many complications, which is why a specific indication is needed. Method In extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, blood is oxygenated outside the body and pumped back into the patient. It is possible to use ECMO via a veno-venous as well as a veno-arterial access. In VV-ECMO, the patient's blood is drawn from a vein and also given back into the bloodstream via a vein. This is preferred if the patient is hemodynamic stable and their heart has sufficient pumping capacity. In VA-ECMO, the blood is returned to the cardiac circulation via an artery. Results The clinical data are from the Clinic of Emergency Medicine, Vilnius University Hospital (Vilniaus universiteto ligonine Santaros klinikos) and were collected between 2020 and 2022 in the COVID-19 Pandemic in Lithuania. 54 patients were recorded, of which 37 patients (68.5%) died. After the analysis of the data, it was noticed that there was a significant difference between the time between intubation and ECMO of both groups. The patients who did not survive ECMO therapy were connected to ECMO one day later. Conclusion Further research is needed to find distinct and definitive indicators of the timing of ECMO use in COVID-19 disease. |
