Heparin-free veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a multiple trauma patient: A case report

We report a case of a 17-year-old multiple trauma patient who was drunken and had confused mentality. Diagnoses: She was suffered from critical respiratory failure (life-threatening hypoxemia and severe hypercapnia/acidosis lasting for 70 minutes) accompanied by cardiac arrest and trauma-induced coagulopathy during general anesthesia. Interventions: We decided to start heparin-free VV-ECMO after cardiac arrest considering risk of hemorrhage. Outcomes: She survived with no neurologic sequelae after immediate treatment with heparin-free VV-ECMO. Lessons: Heparin-free VV-ECMO can be used as a resuscitative therapy in multiple trauma patients with critical respiratory failure accompanied by coagulopathy. Even in cases in which life-threatening hypoxemia and severe hypercapnia/acidosis last for>1 hours during CPR for cardiac arrest, VV-ECMO could be considered a potential lifesaving treatment.
Source: Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Tags: Research Article: Clinical Case Report Source Type: research