Agrima Bhatt, Rajasthan University
Many times, patients need life support when recovering from some critical injury or illness. If we think about the recent cases of COVID-19, which has still not surpassed civilization in some countries, life support or medical ventilators became a critical need of the hour. Intensive Care Units (ICU) in the hospitals quickly ran out of space in this pandemic, as patients and physicians became dependent on the ventilator system. Since then, countries and their healthcare systems have quickly realized their dependency on life support systems.
What does life support do?
Life support refers to a medical device that helps the patient to recover from a certain life-threatening illness or provide support for breathing in some cases. In cases of coma, lung diseases, paralysis, life support is required depending on the patient’s condition. Life support is also used by physicians for a patient under anesthesia while performing surgery. When a patient is suffering to breathe on their own, they are often given extra oxygen as in the case of critical COVID patients.
Recently, a study was performed in Japan to assess the mortality rate and prognostic factors of patients suffering from Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILD). This study was performed on patients who were receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). In this study, 164 patients from 88 hospitals were included.
Another name for “extracorporeal membrane oxygenation” can be “extracorporeal life support”. It is a procedure used for patients suffering from cardiac arrest, shock, or severe respiratory failure. In such events where the heart or lungs are not able to perform their functions effectively, ECMO allows blood to filter out the carbon dioxide from a machine working similarly to a heart and lungs.
Thus, with such machines, oxygen-filled blood is sent back to the tissues and organs without needing the functioning of either organ. This makes it easier for the organs to rest and heal accordingly. ECMO is preferred by physicians across the world as it reduces the potential for any complications or oxygen toxicity. It protects the lungs from any injury caused due to ventilators.
A Study Conducted by Japan:
Since ECMO therapy is provided to patients who are susceptible to reversible causes of respiratory failure, scientists from Japan studied patients to assess the efficacy of this therapy. The recent rise of ECMO therapy among patients has induced such research.
According to this study, 122 out of 164 ILD patients died during hospitalization. All these patients were receiving ECMO therapy in 88 hospitals where the average age of patients was between 65-70 years. 75% in-hospital mortality rate was found in this study. Patients who survived during hospitalization were younger rather than people who were older in comparison.
It was concluded in this study that factors such as advanced age, usage of antifungal medications, and macrolides avoidance in patients were found in association with poor prognosis of ILD patients who were undergoing such therapy. Although in cases of H1N1 related ARDS, such therapy is found to be beneficial. But such diseases combined with ILD, ECMO is doubtful.
Also read: Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteremia affects children with pneumonia
Reference:
- Usagawa, Y., Komiya, K., Yamasue, M., Fushimi, K., Hiramatsu, K., & Kadota, J. (2021). Efficacy of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for acute respiratory failure with interstitial lung disease: a case control nationwide dataset study in Japan. Respiratory Research, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-021-01805-w
- The Corrosion Prediction from the Corrosion Product Performance
- Nitrogen Resilience in Waterlogged Soybean plants
- Cell Senescence in Type II Diabetes: Therapeutic Potential
- Transgene-Free Canker-Resistant Citrus sinensis with Cas12/RNP
- AI Literacy in Early Childhood Education: Challenges and Opportunities
Author’s info:
Agrima Bhatt is an undergraduate student studying BSc. Biotechnology in Jaipur, Rajasthan. She is a science and research enthusiast who also loves to write articles and short snippets.
Some of her published articles at BioXone are:
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/molecular-mechanisms-underlying-virescent-mutation-in-cotton/
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/multi-angle-projection-microscope-a-novel-imaging-technique/
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/scientists-develop-novel-cholera-vaccine-from-rice-grains/
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/ai-predicts-the-relation-between-viruses-and-mammals/
MegaLMM: A software program for genomic predictions
Soumya Shraddhya Paul, Amity University, Noida In most plant and animal breeding, as well as human genetics, large-scale phenotypic data can improve the accuracy of genomic prediction. However, the multivariate linear mixed effect model, which is notorious for its fragility when applied to more than a handful of traits, serves as the statistical foundation of […]