At least 75 patients with the novel coronavirus infection have been treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), according to statistics compiled by the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine (JSICM) and other organizations. The number has nearly doubled in the past two weeks as the number of infected people has increased rapidly.
ECMO is used when oxygen cannot be taken into the lungs well and it is difficult to deliver life-saving treatment even if an oxygen inhaler or a ventilator is used. Oxygen is added to blood pumped from a patient's body through an artificial lung and is then is returned to the body.
As of Sunday, the number of patients had increased to 75 from 40 as of March 30. So far, 25 people have recovered and 11 have died. Thirty-nine patients continue treatment. Men account for 85%.
"It is becoming difficult to secure treatment beds in urban areas such as Tokyo and Osaka." said Dr. Shinhiro Takeda, head of a network comprising the JSICM and others. There are about 400 beds across the country where well-trained medical teams can handle ECMO treatments.
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