Aeromedical interhospital transport of an adult with COVID-19 on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: case report.
Vânia Paula de Carvalho, Bruno Gonçalves da Silva, Flávio Lopes Ferreira and 3 others
PMID 35298584WHAT IT FOUND
One adult with severe COVID-19 respiratory failure was flown to an ECMO centre after ECMO was started at his hospital.
He arrived stable, was decannulated after 45 days, and left ICU. This describes care, not proof that transport or ECMO works.
Key findings
01The first planned transport was postponed after the patient reached 52% saturation during endotracheal aspiration.
02During the successful flight, the on-board nurse controlled continuous medication infusions, monitored airway and capnography, performed blood gas analysis, and recorded vital parameters.
03The in-flight phase had no technical complications or instability, and the patient was decannulated 45 days after V-V ECMO.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a single case report, so it describes what happened to one patient rather than testing whether ECMO, aeromedical transport, or nurse-led care improves outcomes. There was no comparison group, no randomisation, and no formal outcome measure. The patient received ECMO together with mechanical ventilation, sedative analgesics, neuromuscular blockers, vasoactive drugs and heparin, so the contribution of any one part cannot be separated. Data came from the digital medical record, nurses' field notes collected two months after transport, and team discussions. The patient was a 54-year-old previously healthy adult, so the report says nothing about other ages, comorbidities, or transport settings.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that ECMO or aeromedical transport works. It describes one patient receiving ECMO, mechanical ventilation, sedative analgesics, neuromuscular blockers, vasoactive drugs and heparin together, and cannot show what led to his discharge.