SECCE societal positioning
As per issued societal recommendations (21) Cardiovascular Surgery services, in conjunction with Intensive Care, could offer specialized care at the highest level through the use of temporary mechanical support (V-V and V-A ECMO) in COVID-19 patients with severe adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or cardiomyopathy refractory to the conventional treatment. With this official positioning, the medical attention to the critically ill patients took precedence over possible concerns about the suitability of the therapy in this disease.
More specifically, it was recommended:
• Adaptation of the different ECMO programs for their priority use in the pandemic, also guaranteeing adequate health care in the reference area.
• To establish criteria for ECMO support and the exclusion and contraindication criteria for COVID-19 patients.
• To restrict the number of ECMO-involved professionals to the minimum necessary.
• To enroll patients in the ECMO-COVID-19 Registry specifically created by the SECCE.
The different ECMO groups were organized to offer the assistance required at all times according to the impact of the pandemic and availability of resources.