ECMO in SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) patients

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by a new coronavirus strain, SARS-CoV-2. The virus originated from China in 2019, and outbreaks rapidly spread worldwide, resulting in a pandemic. COVID-19 is often complicated by life-threatening acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); hence, patients require escalating support from noninvasive to invasive mechanical ventilation. In the worst cases, either veno-venous or veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) can be offered to support failing lungs or heart. Given the novelty of COVID-19, some features of the virus remain yet unknown, and appropriate management is still to be fully elucidated. In this context of COVID-19 patients, there is an urgent need to characterize indications, benefits, and potential disadvantages of ECMO, which are valid at the present time and may be updated in the near future.