An Arizona man became the first in the state to survive coronavirus with a rare blood treatment called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy (ECMO), The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday.
Enes Dedic, 53, is among the first U.S. COVID-19 patients to survive with ECMO therapy and about one of 10 patients to survive the therapy worldwide.
ECMO was used as a last resort as Dedic was close to death while on a ventilator at HonorHealth John C. Lincoln Medical Center in Phoenix, his doctors told the newspaper.
Ten days after being in a medical coma on ECMO therapy, the patient woke up responsive and soon FaceTimed his wife, according to the Republic.
ECMO therapy helps oxygenate blood outside the body, so the blood doesn’t need to travel through damaged lungs. The blood travels through tubes to an artificial lung that removes carbon dioxide and adds oxygen.
The mortality rate for ECMO therapy is 40 percent, which Dedric’s doctors called “extraordinarily high for almost any medical procedure,” the Republic reported.
Dedric initially developed symptoms of fevers, chills, aches and nausea after traveling overseas. Once transferred to the Phoenix hospital, he received increased ventilation and every potential drug used to treat coronavirus, including hydroxychloroquine.
ECMO has been utilized for H1N1 flu and lung injury patients for several years, but it’s costs sometimes outweigh the benefits and the equipment for it is scarce, a trauma and clinical care surgeon Ace Ovil told the newspaper.
For every 50 to 100 ventilators, there is one ECMO machine, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at the hospital Robert Riley told the Republic.
The Food and Drug Administration issued guidance last week to increase access to ECMO machines for the coronavirus pandemic.
Arizona has confirmed 3,806 cases of coronavirus, leading to 131 deaths. Nationwide, the U.S. has documented at least 609,685 cases and 26,059 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
