ECMO used by Kolkata doctors help Covid-19 patients recover: Report

It doesn't treat the virus, but its after-effects

Even as Russia released its first Covid-19 vaccine, doctors in Kolkata are using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to treat the ravaging after-effects of the virus left on the patient, NDTV reported.

Traditionally, ECMO is used to facilitate breathing during heart surgeries for children. But now, Medica Superspeciality Hospital, Mukundapur, is using it to treat Covid-19 symptoms like pneumonia.

The ECMO acted as a set of artificial lungs for Abhimanyu Lal, 54, who was infected by the virus in May. Medica Superspeciality Hospital hooked him up to the machine for 10 days as his lungs were severely compromised.

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While the machine itself doesn't treat Covid-19, it helps a patient recover from the aftermath of the virus. The process includes draining blood, oxygenating it, warming it and push it back into the patient.

Expressing his relief, Lal's son, Rahul told NDTV, "The machine was next to god. God were the doctors and the whole team that saved my father."

However, the ECMO treatment is not foolproof. Out of the 14 people put on the machine, three died while undergoing treatment and four are still on it. Two are waiting to be discharged, while five have recovered so far.

Senior cardiologist and vice-chairman of Medica, Dr Kunal Sarkar said that the technology is challenging and new but is a ray of hope for patients who wouldn't even have had 48-hours life expectancy.

ECMO was also used when the H1N1 flu swept the UK and Australia. It yielded better results than ventilators at that time said Dr Arpan Chakraborty, a critical care consultant who is a part of the ECMO team.

West Bengal reported 2,936 cases as of August 12, taking the total number of cases to 1,04,326. The death toll reached 2,203 with 54 new deaths.