Successful Use of a Peripheral Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator in a Patient with Chronic Heart Failure and Pneumonia / 대한구급학회지

ABSTRACT

Myocardial dysfunction can occur during severe sepsis and may accelerate in the condition of chronic decompensated heart failure. A 26-year-old female in remission from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma presented with shock due to chronic heart failure combined with pneumonia. The patient was initially stabilized using a peripheral extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) with antibiotics therapy, followed by left ventricular venting due to pulmonary edema that was complicated by left ventricular distension. Here, we report the successful application of ECMO to a patient with pneumonia underlying doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy. Although septic conditions remained unclear indication of ECMO, it might be considered a valuable therapeutic option in patients with chronic heart failure.