Objective We aimed to examine the literature evidence behind using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in COVID‐19 patients in a systematic review manner. Methods We conducted a systematic review using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A comprehensive literature search was conducted on Global Health Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases using keywords and MeSH terms to identify articles pertaining to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). A narrative synthesis was then undertaken to identify the key themes. Results A total of 25 articles met the inclusion criteria of this systematic review. Three main themes were identified following the data extraction: (a) evidence against/inconclusive regarding ECMO for COVID‐19, (b) evidence supporting ECMO for COVID‐19, and finally (c) VV‐ECMO and VA‐ECMO. After combining the data, there were 3428 patients diagnosed with COVID‐19 and 95 ECMO‐associated deaths (19.83%). Conclusion Our study highlights the paucity of evidence and the need for further data to consolidate the efficacy of ECMO in improving patient outcomes. Although ECMO has been shown to be beneficial in a selected group of patients, the recuperative effects of ECMO remain inconclusive. We must ensure that risk‐benefit analysis for each candidate is conducted thoroughly so that patients that have increased probability of survival can benefit from this scarce resource.

Background This study aimed to determine the impact of pulmonary complications on death after surgery both before and during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Methods This was a patient-level, comparative analysis of two, international prospective cohort studies: one before the pandemic (January–October 2019) and the second during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (local emergence of COVID-19 up to 19 April 2020). Both included patients undergoing elective resection of an intra-abdominal cancer with curative intent across five surgical oncology disciplines. Patient selection and rates of 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications were compared. The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative mortality. Mediation analysis using a natural-effects model was used to estimate the proportion of deaths during the pandemic attributable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results This study included 7402 patients from 50 countries; 3031 (40.9 per cent) underwent surgery before and 4371 (59.1 per cent) during the pandemic. Overall, 4.3 per cent (187 of 4371) developed postoperative SARS-CoV-2 in the pandemic cohort. The pulmonary complication rate was similar (7.1 per cent (216 of 3031) versus 6.3 per cent (274 of 4371); P = 0.158) but the mortality rate was significantly higher (0.7 per cent (20 of 3031) versus 2.0 per cent (87 of 4371); P < 0.001) among patients who had surgery during the pandemic. The adjusted odds of death were higher during than before the pandemic (odds ratio (OR) 2.72, 95 per cent c.i. 1.58 to 4.67; P < 0.001). In mediation analysis, 54.8 per cent of excess postoperative deaths during the pandemic were estimated to be attributable to SARS-CoV-2 (OR 1.73, 1.40 to 2.13; P < 0.001). Conclusion Although providers may have selected patients with a lower risk profile for surgery during the pandemic, this did not mitigate the likelihood of death through SARS-CoV-2 infection. Care providers must act urgently to protect surgical patients from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious infection precipitated by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2. It is a novel virus of which transmissability, incidence and mortality rates have made it a global emergency. While the clinical manifestations of the virus may vary in severity, it is widely known that the cardiorespiratory system is the principle infection point of the virus, with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and shock being possibilities. 1 Although severe and critically ill patients account for 15-26% of patients, there are currently no targeted COVID-19 therapeutics. 2 At present, supportive care forms the core of disease management, with emphasis on oxygen delivery in the early stage of the disease. 3 In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) published interim guidelines recommending the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in ARDS patients unresponsive to mainstream therapies, in order to maintain cardiorespiratory function. 4 In this letter, we present a systematic review of the literature to summarize the evidence behind using ECMO in COVID-19 patients, in accordance to the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis: (PRISMA) Guidelines. We have performed a comprehensive electronic literature search using key words "COVID-19," "SARS-CoV2," "Coronavirus," "ECMO," "Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation," "VA-ECMO," "VV-ECMO," "Outcomes," "Respiratory support," and "circulatory support," either as MeSH terms or in the combined key word formats. Our results showed a total of 102 articles that were collected from the database search and through snowballing. A total of 25 articles were selected to be included, after exclusion of duplication and subsequent screening (Fig 1). A summary of each of the chosen studies was conducted as shown in Table 1. After combining the data from the studies, 3,428 patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 overall, 612 patients were diagnosed with ARDS, and 479 were placed on ECMO, with VV-ECMO being the most commonly used type. Commonly used as a form of rescue therapy, ECMO was delivered to COVID-19 patients with induced ARDS and other

(Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2020;149:273–286) The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) recently issued guidelines for the management of all pregnant patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including patients with COVID-19 infection and patients with exposure to the virus. These guidelines should be used along with local guidelines and guidelines from other appropriate organizations.

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