SKMC’s effective use of ECMO offers the most critically ill patients a chance to survive

SKMC’s effective use of ECMO offers the most critically ill patients a chance to survive

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Sajjad Alam, a 19-year-old, was recently hospitalized at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) with severe respiratory distress due to a common virus. SKMC is a part of SEHA and a subsidiary of PureHealth Group – the UAE’s largest integrated healthcare platform. On admission to the Emergency Department, he was found struggling to take proper breaths, and his oxygen saturation levels had gone down to 78%.

He was previously healthy and was not suffering from any other illness. However, his BMI was around 18, indicating he was malnourished. On inspection, it was found that his lungs had failed due to a severe pneumonia that had spread throughout his body. He was shifted to ICU and put on a ventilator the same day.

Despite all the efforts, Sajjad’s condition was not improving. At this point, considering his age and recovery chances, a decision was made to put him on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) to support his breathing. The treatment uses an artificial heart and lung to support the body when a person’s organs are too sick to do the job.

Dr. Mohammed Abdelrehman Shalaby, Consultant Critical Care and Adult ECMO lead, SKMC, said: “ECMO gives patients an opportunity to survive