AI Article Synopsis

  • Health systems need to prepare for increased ICU demands during the COVID-19 pandemic by planning resource allocation to support critically ill patients effectively.
  • The paper emphasizes the importance of having a regional plan for triaging essential resources like mechanical ventilators and integrating ECMO, a complex but beneficial treatment for severe respiratory failure, into disaster preparedness strategies.
  • It discusses ethical considerations and practicalities of offering ECMO during resource-scarce situations to guide decision-making during health crises.

Article Abstract

Health systems confronting the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic must plan for surges in ICU demand and equitably distribute resources to maximize benefit for critically ill patients and the public during periods of resource scarcity. For example, morbidity and mortality could be mitigated by a proactive regional plan for the triage of mechanical ventilators. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a resource-intensive and potentially life-saving modality in severe respiratory failure, has generally not been included in proactive disaster preparedness until recently. This paper explores underlying assumptions and triage principles that could guide the integration of ECMO resources into existing disaster planning. Drawing from a collaborative framework developed by one US metropolitan area with multiple adult and pediatric extracorporeal life support centers, this paper aims to inform decision-making around ECMO use during a pandemic such as COVID-19. It also addresses the ethical and practical aspects of not continuing to offer ECMO during a disaster.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7182515PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2020.04.026DOI Listing

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