ECMO therapy is a last hope for Covid-19 patients. A recent study questions the costly treatment for seniors.
Berlin/Frankfurt – An infection with the corona virus* runs differently. Some develop no noticeable symptoms, other Covid-19 patients have to be treated in an intensive care unit. When the lungs fail, ECMO therapy can save lives. The four letters ECMO stand for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. It is a high-tech procedure – an absolute advance in medicine.
ECMO use in Covid-19: mortality among over 60-year-olds “unacceptably high”
Despite a complex ECMO, many Covid 19 patients have died in Germany. In particular, the mortality rate among older corona patients is “unacceptably high”, according to the result of a recent study published in the European Journal of Anaesthesiology .
According to the research team led by study author Benjamin Friedrichson from the University Hospital in Frankfurt, mortality from ECMO therapy was 77 percent in people over the age of 60. Data from all 4,279 ECMO therapies in Covid-19 patients at German hospitals between January 2020 and the end of September 2021 were analyzed as part of the study.
“In light of these data, the unconditional use of ECMO therapy in COVID-19 needs to be carefully considered, and advanced age should be considered as a relative contraindication,” the study concludes.
ECMO therapy in Germany: study author calls for binding regulations
“The doctors in this country don’t make bad medicine and ECMO is a wonderful therapy that we don’t want to do without,” said Friedrichson, as reported by the dpa news agency. “The results are also very good for younger people.” In Germany, however, compared to other countries, many people over the age of 60 were treated at ECMO.
For study author Benjamin Friedrichson, however, ECMO therapy also has its downsides. “An uncritical use is not justified,” he writes on Twitter. “There is an urgent need for binding regulations for the use of ECMO therapy in Germany. This applies in particular to the older patient group: ‘Do Not ECMO’ applies here.”
Covid-19: ECMO therapy – current data indicate high mortality rate
- The study on ECMO therapy for Covid-19 patients in Germany was published in the Journal of Anaesthesiology on February 17.
- The research team led by Benjamin Friedrichson is from the University Hospital in Frankfurt.
- Data from 4,279 ECMO treatments in Covid-19 patients between January 2020 and the end of September 2021 were evaluated as part of the study.
Corona patients: ECMO use in Germany causes debate
Earlier publications already point to poor German ECMO results in the corona pandemic. This also applies to a data analysis of all Covid patients treated with ECMO in Germany between March 2020 and May 2021: Of the 3,397 cases, 68 percent of those affected died in hospital. “This is significantly higher than reported by other countries or international registries,” the study, published in November 2021, said.
The older average age could be an explanation for the poor figures in an international comparison. But the German health system is also being criticized. It creates incentives to use the procedure in many clinics in Germany. The necessary expertise is not always there.
ECMO – stands for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
In so-called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a so-called artificial lung is used. ECMO supports the heart-lung function outside the body. ECMO is usually the last resort to keep patients alive.
Outside the body, the patient’s deoxygenated blood is fed into an artificial lung outside the body. There, the blood is enriched with oxygen and carbon dioxide is removed. The blood is returned to the body via a hose and pump system.
ECMO is used in acute lung failure resulting from injury or disease (pneumonia or sepsis), heart disease, or during heart surgery.
First study on corona patients – patients would rather die than be ventilated
At the beginning of 2020, a team of doctors from the University of Aachen published a medical study on the first seriously ill corona patients. Several patients therefore refused intubation. (ml) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
