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Background Despite expanding use, knowledge on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support during the COVID-19 pandemic remains limited. The objective was to report characteristics, management, and outcomes of patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with a diagnosis of COVID-19 in France and to identify pre-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation factors associated with in-hospital mortality. A hypothesis of similar mortality rates and risk factors for COVID-19 and non–COVID-19 patients on venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was made. Methods The Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Respiratory Failure and/or Heart failure related to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2 (ECMOSARS) registry included COVID-19 patients supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in France. This study analyzed patients included in this registry up to October 25, 2020, and supported by venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for respiratory failure with a minimum follow-up of 28 days after cannulation. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Risk factors for in-hospital mortality were analyzed. Results Among 494 extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients included in the registry, 429 were initially supported by venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and followed for at least 28 days. The median (interquartile range) age was 54 yr (46 to 60 yr), and 338 of 429 (79%) were men. Management before extracorporeal membrane oxygenation cannulation included prone positioning for 411 of 429 (96%), neuromuscular blockage for 419 of 427 (98%), and NO for 161 of 401 (40%). A total of 192 of 429 (45%) patients were cannulated by a mobile extracorporeal membrane oxygenation unit. In-hospital mortality was 219 of 429 (51%), with a median follow-up of 49 days (33 to 70 days). Among pre-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation modifiable exposure variables, neuromuscular blockage use (hazard ratio, 0.286; 95% CI, 0.101 to 0.81) and duration of ventilation (more than 7 days compared to less than 2 days; hazard ratio, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.07 to 2.83) were independently associated with in-hospital mortality. Both age (per 10-yr increase; hazard ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.50) and total bilirubin at cannulation (6.0 mg/dl or more compared to less than 1.2 mg/dl; hazard ratio, 2.65; 95% CI, 1.09 to 6.5) were confounders significantly associated with in-hospital mortality. Conclusions In-hospital mortality was higher than recently reported, but nearly half of the patients survived. A high proportion of patients were cannulated by a mobile extracorporeal membrane oxygenation unit. Several factors associated with mortality were identified. Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support should be considered early within the first week of mechanical ventilation initiation. Editor’s Perspective What We Already Know about This Topic What This Article Tells Us That Is New

The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the underlying diseases associated with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in immunocompromised HIV-negative patients and to identify prognosis factors in this population. One hundred three cases of PCP were diagnosed over a 5-year period. Diagnosis was established on the basis of clinical features and by detection of Pneumocystis carinii cysts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Underlying diseases comprised hematologic malignancies (n=60; 58%), inflammatory diseases (n=27; 26%), and solid tumors (n=18; 17.5%); 9 (8%) patients were solid organ transplant recipients. Seventy-one (69%) patients received cytotoxic drugs, 57 (55%) were treated with long-term corticotherapy, and 15 (14.7%) underwent bone marrow transplantation. Fifty-eight (56%) patients were admitted to the intensive care unit, and 52 (41%) required mechanical ventilation. Thirty-nine (38%) patients died of PCP; data from these patients were compared with those from surviving patients. The following factors were associated with a poor prognosis: high respiratory rate (P=0.005), high pulse rate (P=0.0003), elevated C-reactive protein (P=0.01), elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase level (P=0.02), and mechanical ventilation (OR, 14.4; 95%CI, 5-50). The results suggest that PCP can occur during the course of many immunosuppressive diseases, particularly various hematologic malignancies. The diagnosis of PCP should be considered more frequently and advocated earlier in immunocompromised HIV-negative patients, since prompt diagnosis may improve the prognosis of these patients.

Primary cardiac lymphomas (PCLs) are rare in immunocompetent patients. Their clinical presentation is highly variable and in case of cardiogenic shock, death is often inevitable with a diagnosis made post-mortem. We report the case of a 65-year old immunocompetent man with cardiogenic shock requiring emergent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Soon after, a diagnosis of PCL was given and chemotherapy was delivered under ECMO support. The patient was progressively weaned from the mechanical support. Six months later, he had fully recovered.

The recent discovery of self-resolving Cryptosporidium infection in immunocompetent patients has aroused growing interest in this parasite, which has thus far been known to affect mainly immunodeficient individuals. Following the hospitalization of two children attending the same day-care center in February 1986 Cryptosporidium oocysts were found in the stools of one of them. This led to an epidemiological investigation to assess the frequency of Cryptosporidium oocysts in the stools of children attending the 7 day-care centers in the city of Poitiers, France. Testing for Cryptosporidium oocysts was performed on formalinized stools, after smear staining by the modified Ziehl-Neelsen procedure. Each positive stool was also submitted to virological and bacteriological examination. Stool specimens from 235 children were studied: 9 (3.8%) of them had Cryptosporidium oocysts in their stools. Four of the children had diarrhea, and 5 (2.2%) were asymptomatic. The existence of healthy carriers should lead to caution in the interpretation of stool parasitology.

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cerebrospinal fluid -a comparison between gas chromatographic and spectrophotometric method. Scand J Clin Lab Invest 29 : 281-287 4. Fischer J, Edgren BE, Mammel MC, Coleman MJ (1985) Neonatal apnea associated with maternal clonazepam therapy: a case report.

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