Extracorporeal gas exchange in acute lung injury: step by step towards expanded indications?

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is widely accepted as a rescue therapy in patients with acute life-threatening hypoxemia in the course of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, possible side effects and complications are considered to limit beneficial outcome effects. Therefore, widening indications with the aim of reducing ventilator induced lung injury (VILI) is still controversial. Consequently, technological progress is an important strategy. Miniaturized ECMO systems are believed to simplify handling and reduce side effects and complications. Mueller and co-workers evaluated such a small-sized device in 60 patients with severe ARDS. They accomplished both the treatment of severe hypoxemia and reduction of VILI, demonstrating feasibility, a moderate rate of severe complications, and a 45% intensive care survival rate. Although neither randomized nor controlled, this study should encourage others to implement such systems in clinical practice. From a strategic perspective, this is another small but useful step towards implementing extracorporeal gas exchange for the prevention of VILI. It is already common sense that the prevention of acute life-threatening hypoxemia usually outweighs the risks of this technique. The next step should be to prove that prevention of life-threatening VILI balances the risks too.