Department of Medicine III (Interdisciplinary Medical Intensive Care), Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Department of Cardiology and Angiology I, Heart Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Artif Organs. 2021 Oct;45(10):1168-1172. doi: 10.1111/aor.14030. Epub 2021 Jul 20.
ECMO support is particularly resource-intensive and should be provided in highly specialized centers. Occasionally, ECMO needs to be initiated in non-ECMO centers by mobile ECMO retrieval teams. Subsequently, patients must be transferred on ECMO to the ECMO center. We report single-center data from out-of-center initiations of ECMO during the COVID-19 pandemic. From March 2020 through February 2021, nine patients were connected to ECMO before transfer to our center. Median travel distance (IQR) from the referring hospital to our center was 66 km (20-92), median land travel time (IQR) was 51 minutes (26-92). Personal protective equipment was available for all team members and used throughout the missions. No infections of team members with SARS-CoV-2 occurred. Three patients survived until hospital discharge. Median duration of ECMO (IQR) was 18 days (2-78) in survivors and 19 days (9-42) in non-survivors, respectively. Out-of-center initiation of ECMO during the COVID-19 pandemic was feasible and safe for patients and staff.
体外膜肺氧合（ECMO）支持尤其需要耗费大量资源，应在高度专业化的中心提供。偶尔，移动 ECMO 检索团队需要在非 ECMO 中心启动 ECMO。随后，患者必须在 ECMO 上转至 ECMO 中心。我们报告了 COVID-19 大流行期间在中心外启动 ECMO 的单中心数据。从 2020 年 3 月至 2021 年 2 月，在转至我们中心之前，有 9 名患者连接到 ECMO。从转诊医院到我们中心的中位数（IQR）旅行距离为 66 公里（20-92），中位数陆地旅行时间（IQR）为 51 分钟（26-92）。所有团队成员都有个人防护设备，并在整个任务中使用。团队成员未发生 SARS-CoV-2 感染。3 名患者存活至出院。幸存者的 ECMO 中位持续时间（IQR）为 18 天（2-78），非幸存者为 19 天（9-42）。COVID-19 大流行期间在中心外启动 ECMO 对患者和工作人员来说是可行且安全的。
