Successful use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in acute respiratory distress syndrome following accidental chlorine gas inhalation at a swimming pool.

We present a young girl who had severe acute respiratory distress syndrome following exposure to chlorine gas during the disinfection process at a swimming pool. She failed conventional management and underwent venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Despite multiple infections and a pneumothorax, she eventually recovered. Chlorine gas was the first agent of chemical warfare which caused a massive death toll during the First World War. Even today, the chemical is produced in large quantities and the threat of a large-scale leak is ever-present from industrial accidents or terrorist attacks. The criteria to assess and manage chlorine gas-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome are likely to be the same as for other causes of acute respiratory distress syndrome and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can be used successfully. PMID: 32441230 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Perfusion - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Tags: Perfusion Source Type: research