Journal of the Bahrain Medical Society

Year 2021, Volume 33, Issue 1, Pages 42-46

https://doi.org/10.26715/jbms.33_2020_1_9

Case Report

Effect of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Treatment of COVID-19 Patient with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Fathelrhman Ali Eltayeb*, Jalal Abdulla Alkhan

Author Affiliation

1Department of Anaesthesia & ICU, Field Intensive Care Unit (FICU), Bahrain Defense Force Royal Medical Services.

*Corresponding author: Fathelrhman Ali Eltayeb Idriss, Department of Anaesthesia & ICU, Field Intensive Care Unit (FICU), Bahrain Defense Force Royal Medical Services; Tel. No.: 0097336593169; Email: fathi19737@yahoo.com 

Received date: November 23, 2020; Accepted date: December 28, 2020; Published date: March 31, 2021


Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious infection caused by the newly discovered severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel virus causing from very mild symptoms to severe symptoms associated with high morbidity and mortality. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry mouth and tiredness, sore throat, headache, loss of taste or smell, diarrhea, conjunctivitis, and sometimes a skin rash. In severe cases, some patients require mechanical ventilator support in a prone position to improve their oxygenation. In extreme cases, despite all the above measures, patients are required to have extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support to improve oxygenation. The two most common types of ECMO are veno-arterial (VA) and venovenous (VV). This case report presents a positive outcome when VV-ECMO was used in COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome at the hospital’s field intensive care unit.

Keywords: COVID-19; Dyspnea; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation; Hypoxia, Respiratory Distress Syndrome.