Successful utilization of ECMO to treat an adult burn patient with ARDS

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a lifesaving modality in the treatment of pediatric patients with burns and respiratory failure

“…Although these cases have illustrated the feasibility of using ECMO as a lifesaving treatment of burn-related respiratory failure, they have provided a biased view of morbidity and mortality for this patient population. In the 23 pediatric cases reported, 18 (74%) survived to hospital discharge [2,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11], whereas 7 (78%) of the 9 adult cases reported survived to hospital discharge [12][13][14][15][16][17]. Our study is the first to examine this subset of patients from the ELSO registry and demonstrates a lower overall survival rate (53% compared with 74%), indicating bias in the previously reported case series.…”

“…The case involved an 11-month-old male infant with 32% TBSA scald burns who developed ARDS, required VA ECMO support for 28 days, and survived to discharge home. Since then, there have been multiple case reports and case series describing the experience of single institutions with ECMO in the treatment of respiratory failure in patients with both flame and scald burn injuries [2,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Although these cases have illustrated the feasibility of using ECMO as a lifesaving treatment of burn-related respiratory failure, they have provided a biased view of morbidity and mortality for this patient population.…”

“…The use of ECMO has been extended to the treatment of pediatric and adult burn patients that suffer severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and inhalation injury [2,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Twenty-three pediatric cases using ECMO as a treatment modality for burn-related respiratory failure have been reported in the literature for both flame and scald burns [2,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

Successful Management of Adult Smoke Inhalation with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

“…22,23 A review of the English language literature and ELSO registry found only nine previous cases in which ECMO was used in adult burn patients plus a reference to two other adults in non-English language journals. [2][3][4][5][6][7] Of the nine cases mentioned, there were four survivors. Our patients add two more successes to this brief list, confirming its potential as both a feasible and repeatable means of treating such patients.…”

“…Our review of the literature and Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) registry revealed only nine previous cases. [2][3][4][5][6][7] At our institution, only two adult burn patients have been managed with ECMO, and both were successful. These cases are reported here, along with preliminary guidelines for the consideration of ECMO in the burned patient.…”