Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a lifesaving technology in critically ill patients who present with cardiac/ pulmonary/combined cardiopulmonary failure. These patients are the sickest of all patients in any critical care unit and will invariably have a prolonged course and rehabilitation. Spontaneous breathing and early mobilization can reduce the intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired weakness, improve functional recovery, and reduce superadded infections and length of stay in the hospital, thus decreasing the cost of treatment. In low socioeconomic countries, there is an associated challenge of the availability of specially trained personnel necessary to manage patients on ECMO. Managing and ambulating an awake patient on ECMO is very labour-intensive and poses various challenges. Every ECMO program should aim to develop goals, methods, and protocols to this end. These can be derived from best practices worldwide by suitably adapting to available personnel and equipment. In this review, we aim to highlight the advantages and associated challenges of awake ECMO and describe protocols to aid safe ambulation and physiotherapy for ECMO patients.
Organising pneumonia, previously called bronchiolitis obliterans organising pneumonia is a clinicopathological entity of unknown aetiology, which has been reported with increasing frequency. Various modes of presentation have been described such as cough, fever, weight loss and alveolar opacities on chest radiograph. Haemoptysis as primary presenting symptom has only rarely been reported. The authors report a case in which massive life-threatening haemoptysis was the major presenting symptom. No aetiology was identified for the haemoptysis and the diagnosis was confirmed on postmortem histology. This case highlights the importance of considering organising pneumonia in the differential diagnosis of acute severe haemoptysis.
Massive (or life‐threatening) haemoptysis is a time‐sensitive emergency encountered by a physician that requires an interdisciplinary, collaborative effort to arrest the bleeding in a prompt and timely manner. Placement of an endobronchial Watanabe spigot (EWS) to halt haemoptysis is a relatively recent technique finding its wide application in airway pathology, with the current extension of its use to bronchial bleeding. However, the lack of immediate access to EWS gives rise to the need to innovate with day‐to‐day materials used in routine surgical practice and available in resource‐limited settings, which may serve the purpose of a spigot. In this report, we bring to light a case of life‐threatening, cryptogenic haemoptysis that was managed by a novel technique of using peanut gauze as a spigot resulting in a successful endobronchial tamponade.
Neurological symptoms such as headache and blurring of vision could be a manifestation of an underlying lung adenocarcinoma. The objective of this case report is to unveil the possible differentials and processes involved in the diagnosis of marantic endocarditis. A 57-year old male with blurring of vision and brain CT revealing multiple abscesses, sterile on culture, was treated as per guidelines. However, the patient had recurrent complaints that reinforced recurrent admissions and the patient was found to be COVID-19 positive during the pandemic when a routine test was performed in the emergency department. Suspicious lesions on the chest X-ray were further scrutinised and the patient was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma. To further investigate the sterile cultures in the brain, a cardiologist’s opinion was taken and a transthoracic echocardiogram was done, which was unremarkable. The increased suspicion for non-infective endocarditis necessitated a transoesophageal echocardiogram, which was positive for vegetations on the aortic valve. The patient was treated with anticoagulants and chemotherapy. In conclusion, in patients with CT findings of abscesses and sterile cultures, it is crucial to investigate the possible differentials in a meticulous fashion, as there could be an undiagnosed lung cancer in a non-smoker and there is a rare possibility of a sterile vegetation on the aortic valve, as was seen in the authors’ case.
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