Hyderabad: In one of his good recovery, a 36-year-old woman from Hyderabad who was affected by the severe covid pneumonia recovered after 90 days of inpatient where 41 days were in ECMO support.
Support Oxygenation Membrane ExtracorPoreal (ECMO) is the last treatment line used for critical patients when all other treatments fail and some organs begin to develop problems.
By replacing the function of vital organs in the body, ECMO allows organs to rest and recover.
It is used to manage respiratory / kidney complications / multi-organ failures.
His extraordinary recovery over a period of 90 days from May 11 when he landed at the hospital from truly unconscious for almost two months, to support the ventilator, undergo tracheostomy, dialysis, physiotherapy and finally on oxygen support 1 rare was rare.
While at first the doctor tried to manage conditions with high flow oxygen support but he could not tolerate and put in the ventilator.
Without improvement, he must use ECMO for one and a half months.
“During this time he had a lot of fluctuations in his condition, and on several occasions, we felt he would not survive.
Some efforts were made to weaning him from ECMO but they failed and for a period of time, his kidney was also affected to require dialysis support.
Considering conditions where the patient arrived And the length of the ECMO support, it is amazing to see patients recovering with a full cycle.
Patients in the support of a long ECMO are not easy out, “said Dr.
Ganshyam M Jagathkar, Director – Critical Care, Medicover Hospital.
He has developed a severe weakness of his muscles which makes it very difficult for him to stand or sit.
Intense physiotherapy starts from the initial period which helps it regain its strength to a certain extent.
“The tracheostomy tube is also removed and he can talk and eat alone.
At present he is at 1 liter of oxygen support, awake, cheerful, eating, speaking.
But it is still weak and requires rehabilitation through extensive physiotherapy and good nutritional support,” added the doctor .