Budget of KD 1.7 million allocated for ECMO machine filters

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UWAIT CITY, Jan 7: According to reliable sources from the Ministry of Health, the ministry has allocated KD 1.7 million for the supply of special filters used for the Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines available in the intensive care units of Amiri and Adan hospitals to ensure optimal handling of patients who suffer from acute respiratory failure, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The sources explained that the allocation of the fund is in line with the ministry’s keenness to import the best types of medicines, equipment and medical supplies and to supply them in its health facilities, especially with the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the repercussions of the pandemic.

The ECMO technique consists of installing an external artificial lung machine and connecting it to the patient so that blood is drawn through this machine, provided that oxygen is sent in and carbon dioxide is removed afterwards.

This machine replaces the function of the lung, and also provides additional opportunities for the patient’s lung to recover, in greater proportions. There are positive results obtained from its use in terms of health care, as it clearly contributes to reducing the mortality rates among patients with respiratory failure.

ECMO, also known as extracorporeal life support (ECLS), is an extracorporeal technique of providing prolonged cardiac and respiratory support to persons whose hearts and lungs are unable to provide adequate amount of gas exchange or perfusion to sustain life.

It was commissioned in 2017 for adults in the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care at Adan Hospital, with the aim of dealing with handling patients with acute respiratory failure who fail the traditional methods of treatment through regular ventilators. It gets connected to patients through central venous catheters inserted by doctors and specialists.

Last February, the ministry adopted a policy for referring patients to ECMO centers in Amiri and Adan hospitals based on the residential area. Patients from the Ahmadi, Hawally and Farwaniyah health zones are transferred to the ECMO center in Adan Hospital, and patients from the Capital, Jahra and Sabah health zones are transferred to the ECMO Center in Amiri Hospital.

The sources affirmed that the Ministry of Health seeks to expand the provision of ECMO technology to include pediatric patients and premature babies who suffer from acute respiratory failure, indicating that this type of treatment gives a new life opportunity to many patients experiencing critical conditions and chest infections in intensive care units in all public hospitals.

Thet revealed a successful experience of the ECMO Center in Adan last June in treating the first Egyptian girl infected with COVID-19, explaining that she had experienced a sharp drop in blood circulation and respiratory function, which necessitated placing her on life support machine at the time, and there were medical staff trained to provide this type of medical services.

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