COVID-free, hale and hearty after 44 days on ECMO

It is a procedure that oxygenates a patient’s blood outside body

A seriously ill COVID patient from the district has been treated and brought back to life by employing Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)—a procedure that oxygenates a patient’s blood outside the body—for 44 days at the KIMS HEALTH hospital here, a press release issued by the hospital has said. The 38-year-old engineer, who was on home quarantine after turning COVID-19 positive, was advised through tele consultation to come to the hospital after his oxygen saturation dropped suddenly. The initial treatment was supervised by the hospital COVID team. The patient was given oxygen support and moved to the multidisciplinary ICU. He was then put on ventilator, as his condition worsened after he developed pneumonia and his lung function dropped.