Therapy and Outcome of Prolonged Veno-venous ECMO Therapy of Critically Ill ARDS Patients.

In the context of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare systems worldwide faced an unprecedented shortage of severe ARDS. Critically affected patients were treated with veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) for complete respiratory failure early in the pandemic. Due to a shortage of resources in the sense of terminal equipment and adequately trained personnel with appropriate expertise in many countries and regions, a strict selection of suitable patients was made. Repeatedly, it was observed that patients under VV-ECMO also needed several weeks to recover sufficiently to generate device sufficient gas exchange. Due to the scarcity of VV-ECMO resources outside of the pandemic, the question arose whether a prolonged therapy still holds a sufficient prospect of success and what the course of treatment of such patients would be like.