Pregnant woman with severe Covid pneumonia saved by ECMO

A 26-week pregnant woman with severe Covid pneumonia was successfully discharged from Manipal Hospitals Jayanagar after a two-month treatment.

Manyata (name changed) was brought into the hospital after she developed a fever and cough needing oxygen due to breathlessness.

After assessing her condition, critical care specialists at the hospital immediately admitted her to the ICU. She had Covid with severe pneumonia.

After assessing her condition, Dr Justin A Gopaldas, Consultant, Critical Care Medicine, said: “She required oxygen initially, but her condition worsened within a day, and she needed to be placed on a ventilator to ease her breathing.”

Severe Covid causes respiratory problems, damaging the kidneys and liver. The doctors said that despite ventilator support, her lungs were unable to function as they should.

“We started our rescue efforts with oxygen support on the ventilator and prone posture. However, nothing seemed to work, and we were left with only one option —to initiate Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)," Dr Gopaldas added.

Within 12 hours of being on ECMO, her blood pressure, oxygen level, and kidney function quickly improved. Both the mother and the infant were constantly monitored throughout the procedure, said doctors.

She survived the illness and is carrying her pregnancy to term. She will give birth in two months.