Citation

Seesink J, van der Wielen W, Dos Reis Miranda D, Moors XJR. Resusc. Plus 2024; 19: e100685.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.resplu.2024.100685

PMID

38957704

PMCID

PMC11217753

Abstract

An 18-year-old drowning victim was successfully resuscitated using prehospital veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). Despite 24 min of submersion in water with a surface temperature of 15 °C, the patient was cannulated on-scene and transported to a trauma center. After ICU admission on VA-ECMO, he was decannulated and extubated by day 5. He was transferred to a peripheral hospital on day 6 and discharged home after 3.5 weeks with favorable neurological outcome of a Cerebral Performance Categories (CPC) score of 1 out of 5. This case underscores the potential of prehospital ECMO in drowning cases within a well-equipped emergency response system.

Language: en

Keywords

Drowning; Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); Drowning Resuscitation; Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO); Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS); Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA); Prehospital veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO)