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Actor Paulo Gustavo is hospitalized in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with Covid-19 and after a worsening of his condition he underwent an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) procedure, popularly known as an artificial lung. But how does the method work?
According to the Recommendation Report published by the Ministry of Health, the procedure can be used in severe cases where the conventional mechanical ventilation of the ICU cannot cope with the supply of oxygen to the lungs. The patient can have ECMO “until the lungs recover and regain their basic function,” the article says.
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The equipment consists of a series of integrated plastic tubes “where the blood flows pumped by an electromagnetic pump and passes through a respiratory membrane, in which the blood is oxygenated and carbon dioxide is extracted and then returned to the system circulatory system of the patient ”. , explains the description.
How does it work?
The ECMO used by the actor Paulo Gustavo is not a new method. The technology has been applied for more than 30 years, but before it was primarily focused on cardiac surgery. The application to treat patients who do not recover with admission to the conventional ICU is relatively recent. The main difference from a normal respirator is the amount of air supplied.
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The technique began to be applied more frequently during the last year and this year precisely to treat patients with Covid-19. During the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, the method also helped save lives. “In recent years, the use of cardiopulmonary bypass has gained prominence due to studies that have shown a reduction in mortality in patients with severe respiratory failure,” the report also explains.
The ECMO method applied in Paulo Gustavo is considered safe, with few adverse reactions, most of which are related to bleeding at the application site. Despite this, the system is not simple and requires equipment ready to be used.
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