All You Need to Know About Technology and Lung ECMO
The lung is one of the critical organs in the human body. Just like any other organ, it is likely to fail due to various conditions. In fact, at least 4 million people die of lung failure across the world every year. Although ventilators have been used widely especially for Covid-19 treatment, technology is expansive. The invention of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a boost in the healthcare industry. For the last 20 years, it has proved to be an essential tool when it comes to the care of patients with cardiac and pulmonary dysfunctions. In the article herein, you will learn important things you should know about ECMO, its development over the years, as well as the possible complications.
During the initial stages of the introduction of ECMO, many health practitioners were reluctant to embrace this special technology. However, with improvements in its functionality and management as well as improved experience, it has become more reliable. It is worth mentioning the effectiveness of this technology in intensive care units. According to some reports, it was actively used in 2014 in not less than 5,000 cases. Although this is good news, there are still debates on when it is appropriate for a patient and when to stop.
It goes without mentioning that only trained and certified clinicians should operate the ECMO. After all, it involves a lot of work from initiation, maintenance, etc. With adequate experience, a clinician will know the …