1. Severe tracheal tear - an alternative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation indication.
- Author
-
Buschulte K, Kahn N, Schmidt W, and Reinhardt L
- Subjects
- Humans, Female, Middle Aged, Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation methods, Trachea injuries
- Abstract
Introduction: Conservative management is usually preferred for iatrogenic tracheal injuries. Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO) is mostly used in acute refractory hypoxemia, airway lesions are an alternative indication., Case Report: A 51-year-old female was transferred with a large tracheal tear after plastic tracheotomy. Due to a critical ventilation situation with hypercapnia, conservative management was set and V-V ECMO was installed. With optimized tube positioning, minimal ventilation and gas transfer via V-V ECMO, a complete healing of the injury could be achieved., Discussion: Fast diagnosis of tracheal injuries is essential; transfer to a specialized centre should be considered. In our case, organ support via ECMO was necessary due to a difficult ventilation situation with persisting hypercapnia. Thus, reduction in ventilation pressures with reduction of possible leakage and healing of the tracheal tear could be achieved., Conclusion: Management of tracheal tears is complex; in severe cases special therapy concepts such as the use of V-V ECMO may become necessary., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF