Pumpless extracorporeal lung assist for the treatment of severe, refractory status asthmaticus

Until recently, the only available lung-protective treatment option for carbon dioxide removal due to severe, refractory status asthmaticus has been extracorporeal pump-driven membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Pumpless extracorporeal lung assist (pECLA) may serve as an alternative therapy for these patients.

A 42-year-old woman presented with an acute exacerbation of asthma to our Emergency Department. Despite optimal pharmacological therapy, the patient developed respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation with elevated airway pressures. For severe ventilation-refractory hypercapnia and respiratory acidosis, ECMO was used initially and was later replaced by a pECLA device. The clinical condition continuously improved with sufficient pulmonary gas exchange. The pECLA was removed after 8 days, and the patient was successfully weaned from mechanical ventilation.

This report suggests that pECLA is an alternative extracorporeal lung assist in patients with ventilation-refractory hypercapnia and respiratory acidosis due to severe, refractory status asthmaticus.