Low flow veno-venous extracorporeal CO2 removal for acute hypercapnic respiratory failure.

Background: Ventilation with low tidal volume and airway pressure results in a survival benefit in ARDS patients. Previous research suggests that avoiding mechanical ventilation altogether may be beneficial in some cases of respiratory failure. Our hypothesis was that low flow veno-venous extracorporeal CO2 removal (ECCO2R) enables maintenance of a lung protective ventilation strategy or awake spontaneous ventilation despite severe hypercapnic respiratory failure (HRF).