Application of Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Failure: Situations, Issues, and Trends

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a type of extracorporeal life support (ECLS), and technological advances have expanded the use of this technique from the confines of the operating room by producing a compact system that could revolutionize the treatment of different types of respiratory failure.[1] The use of ECMO for severe acute respiratory failure (ARF) has evolved over the past two decades, and venovenous‐ECMO (VV‐ECMO) has been found to be safe and successful, especially during the H1N1 influenza epidemic, with good survival rates. ECMO has been used as salvage or rescue therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) by providing oxygenation, CO2 removal, or both. It is not curative for ARDS and is used mainly as a bridge until the lungs recover from the underlying disease or as a bridge to lung transplantation for severe irreversible lung diseases.