Prone position ventilation and femoro‐femoral veno‐venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for COVID‐19 treatment

Maeda, Akiko; Nabeya, Daijiro; Nagano, Hiroaki; Yagi, Nobuhito; Miyagi, Tadayoshi; Kishaba, Tomoo

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), has resulted in significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Approximately 5% of COVID‐19 patients who suffer from pneumonia develop critical respiratory failure. Here, we report the case of a healthy 52‐year‐old man who had respiratory failure owing to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and was treated using femoro‐femoral veno‐venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV‐ECMO) and prone position ventilation (PPV). After this treatment, his blood oxygen levels, chest high‐resolution computed tomography findings, and clinical parameters significantly improved. He was decannulated from VV‐ECMO on day 6 and finally extubated on day 11. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of SARS‐CoV‐2‐associated acute respiratory distress syndrome that was successfully treated with a combination of femoro‐femoral VV‐ECMO and PPV.