All articles tagged with #ards
Surgeons at Northwestern Medicine used a total artificial lung system to take over gas exchange after removing both diseased lungs from a critically ill patient, preserving heart function and bridging him to a double-lung transplant. The patient survived 48 hours on life support and, after the procedure, recovered well; two years later he has normal lung function and is fully independent.
Northwestern surgeons used a total artificial lung (TAL) with dual blood flow and a flow-adaptive shunt to oxygenate blood after removing the patient’s infected lungs, keeping him alive for 48 hours until a donor double-lung transplant could be performed. The patient recovered with fully functioning lungs over time, suggesting TALs could be a lifesaving option for select severe ARDS cases and potentially be integrated into standard devices in the future.
Northwestern researchers demonstrated a total artificial lung system (TAL) that temporarily replaces both diseased lungs for two days in a 33-year-old man with ARDS and sepsis, buying time for a successful double lung transplant; the patient recovered and is thriving two years later. TAL fully substitutes lung function and maintains heart stability, unlike ECMO, and while currently limited to specialized centers, the team envisions multicenter studies to refine protocols and expand use as a life-saving bridge to transplantation.
A 33-year-old man with influenza-triggered ARDS survived 48 hours on an external artificial-lung system that maintained blood flow to the heart, allowing a double lung transplant. He recovered rapidly, kidneys and heart function normalized, and years later shows no rejection, suggesting the device could help other critically ill patients awaiting transplants.
Northwestern doctors used a custom flow-adaptive artificial lung to sustain a critically ill patient for 48 hours after removing both diseased lungs, stabilizing circulation and oxygenation until a donor pair became available for a successful double lung transplant.
A randomized clinical trial involving 170 patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) undergoing venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) found that prone positioning did not significantly reduce the time to successful weaning from ECMO compared to supine positioning. The study, primarily consisting of COVID-19 patients, showed that successful ECMO weaning occurred in 44% of patients in both the prone ECMO group and the supine ECMO group. There were no significant differences in secondary outcomes such as mortality, ICU and hospital length of stay, and adverse events between the two groups.
A study funded by the National Institutes of Health suggests that the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) does not complicate treatment for severe respiratory failure in adults with obesity. The study found that adults with obesity who received ECMO for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) had lower mortality rates compared to patients without obesity who received ECMO. The findings support the use of ECMO as a potential lifesaving therapy for critically ill patients with obesity and ARDS.