ECMO can be a treatment modality for poisoning cases

摘要

Background: Although there have been many developments related to specific strategies for treating patients after poisoning exposure, the mainstay of therapy remains symptomatic and supportive care. Objectives: To highlight different techniques of ECMO, indications, contraindications, and some case reports of its use in patients with poisoning. Methods: PubMed and the Cochrane database were searched using the terms “extracorporeal membrane oxygenation”, “ECMO”, and “poison”. Results: Two types of ECMO are used: veno-venous ECMO (VV-ECMO) and veno-arterial ECMO (VA-ECMO). Indications: As the clinical impact of intoxication is often temporary, ECMO can be used as a “bridge to recovery”. Contraindications: Absolute contraindications are uncontrolled coagulopathy and severe intracranial bleeding, which precludes the use of anticoagulation therapy. Relative contraindications to ECMO include advanced age, severe irreversible brain injury, untreatable metastatic cancer, and severe organ dysfunction.