Acute and Critical Care

Case Reports

Cardiology/Pulmonary
Successful Rescue Therapy with Pumpless Extracorporeal Carbon Dioxide Removal in a Patient with Persistent Air Leakage due to Empyema: Jaeyoung Cho, Yeon Joo Lee, Jae-Ho Lee, Choon-Taek Lee, Young-Jae Cho; Korean J Crit Care Med. 2017;32(3):284-290. Published online November 14, 2016; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2016.00185

Abstract PDF: A young metastatic lung cancer patient developed empyema due to an infection with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Hydropneumothorax was detected and managed by a tube thoracotomy. However, persistent air leakage through the chest tube was observed due to the presence of a bronchopleural fistula (BPF). As hypercapnic respiratory failure had progressed and the large air leak did not diminish by conservative management, a pumpless extracorporeal lung assist (pECLA) device was inserted. The pECLA allowed the patient to be weaned from mechanical ventilation and the BPF to heal. The present case shows the effective application of pECLA in a patient with empyema complicated with BPF and severe hypercapnic respiratory failure. pECLA enabled us to minimize airway pressure to aid in the closure of the BPF in the mechanically ventilated patient.

A Case of Pumpless Interventional Lung Assist Application in a Tuberculosis Destroyed Lung Patient with Severe Hypercapnic Respiratory Failure: So Hee Park, Sang Ook Ha, Jae Seok Park, Sang Bum Hong, Tae Sun Shim, Chae Man Lim, Younsuck Koh; Korean J Crit Care Med. 2013;28(3):192-196.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2013.28.3.192

Abstract PDF: Pumpless extracorporeal interventional lung assist (iLA) is a rescue therapy allowing effective carbon dioxide removals and lung protective ventilator settings. Herein, we report the use of a pumpless extracorporeal iLA in a tuberculosis destroyed lung (TDL) patient with severe hypercapnic respiratory failures. A 35-year-old male patient with TDL was intubated due to CO2 retention and altered mentality. After 11 days, Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) had developed. Despite the maximal mechanical ventilator support, his severe respiratory acidosis was not corrected. We applied the iLA for the management of refractory hypercapnia with respiratory acidosis. This case suggests that the iLA is an effective rescue therapy for TDL patients with ventilator refractory hypercapnia.

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