Successful treatment of COVID-19 using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, a case report

Since the end of 2019, COVID-19 has been prevalent in Wuhan, China, and has been rapidly spreading to mainland China. Currently, more than 80,000 people have been infected, of which over 10,000 were severely ill and had characteristics of dyspnea and hypoxemia about one week after onset. Severe patients had rapidly progressed to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), causing multiple organ failures and even death, with a mortality rate of nearly 4.3%. The treatment of severe COVID-19 patients has been rarely reported. This study reported a successful example of a severe COVID-19 patient with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) technology in our hospital. This experience revealed that the early application of ECMO can dramatically promote the recovery of severe COVID-19 patients.