• Artificial lung (Ecmo) "Without this machine, today I would not be here, counting it"

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Just four months ago, the case of a young man from Madrid with Covid-19 who had already gone through all the possible options so that his lungs could continue to function drew attention.

Even with intubation his condition did not improve.

The use of an artificial lung (Ecmo), available only in some hospitals, was what saved his life.

Now this same technique has doubled a 30-year-old woman with bilateral SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia who was 26 weeks pregnant.

Finally, after her recovery, the gestation period has been completed normally and she has given birth to her little girl, without complications.

It was at the 12 de Octubre University Hospital in Madrid

, one of the two centers of reference in the Madrid community (next to Puerta Hierro) that has this technique.

Sara was admitted to her Intensive Care Unit on May 25 when, after her condition worsened, the medical team where she was admitted (at the Fuenlabrada University Hospital) decided that the best route was to use the oxygenation system for Extracorporeal Membrane (Ecmo).

It is

a circuit that temporarily replaces respiratory function

, so that the lungs rest so that, in a few days, they can return to the standard ventilation situation.

This appliance can be used for continuous days or weeks.

It is withdrawn when the patient stabilizes and that is when the standard method of mechanical ventilation is switched.

Thanks to the program implemented in the Community of Madrid in December 2020, Sara was able to access the Ecmo transport system through a SUMMA 112 mobile ICU that took her from one hospital to another in safety conditions. With this protocol activated, it is possible to respond to serious patients from hospitals without Ecmo to those that do have said system.

It is a complex equipment that is only available in some hospitals and that needs to be used by professionals trained and trained in its handling.

It oxygenates the patient's blood after passing through an extracorporeal circulation circuit

and returns it to the body, demonstrating efficacy for the treatment of Covid-19 in the most critical situations, according to the experience accumulated by Hospital 12 de Octubre, which has already used it in several patients.

According to Emilio Renés, head of the Intensive Medicine section of the Madrid hospital, this program "has existed [for a longer time] in other autonomous communities, such as Valencian and Catalan, and in other countries in order to centralize certain complex therapies in referral hospitals and give equal opportunities ". As the specialist adds, these protocols "

are especially necessary in those places where the geographic dispersion is notable

, with regional hospitals very far from the reference, where the transfer of the most seriously ill patients is vital."

In Sara's case, the artificial lung meant an improvement from the respiratory point of view, so after 10 days in the ICU on October 12, Ecmo was withdrawn.

The evolution was favorable and once the sedation was removed, she was extubated without incident (on June 5) and transferred to the conventional hospital ward two days later.

Given her state of pregnancy, the Obstetrics and Gynecology and Neonatology specialists also kept me

supervising the fetal evolution

, controlling its development, amniotic fluid levels and fetal movements according to the maternal sedation situation ... At all times, the management was multidisciplinary to achieve the well-being of Sara and the fetus.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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