[Extracorporeal CO removal as an alternative to tracheotomy in a patient with extubation failure].

We report a patient with chest trauma who was admitted to the ICU after surgery. As he fulfilled protocol-based criteria, he was extubated 7 days after admission. However, despite intermittent non-invasive ventilation, the patient had to be re-intubated on day 10 owing to progressive hypercapnia. We decided to support the patient with a mid-flow veno-venous extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO‑R) system instead of a tracheotomy. Sufficient CO removal was established with a blood flow of 1.5 l/min and the patient was successfully extubated within a few hours. After 5 days of ECCO‑R the patient could be weaned and transferred to a general ward in a stable condition.