In this episode a paramedic put a child on ECMO. Puting anyone on ECMO is a highly specialised procedure performed by a physician, in all circumstances. Usually by a cardiac surgeon, there is no place in the world where a paramedic would put anyone on ECMO. The child also recovered from his hypothermic cardiac arrest within 30 seconds of being on ECMO, that does not happen.
When the paramedic put the child on ECMO they were not sterile, causing the child to have a life threatening infection. The line that they inserted on camera was a small central line, ECMO cannulas are the size of a garden hose. They were rewarming him on ECMO, the warmer is a separate, large, piece of equipment that was not present in the back of this van. Without this warmer the ECMO circuit will only warm a person to room temperature, as seen in the scene in the van it is snowing. It takes several hours to rewarm a hypothermic patient, if you go too fast you will kill them.
I know what I am talking about, I take care of ECMO patients daily. This child has a 30% chance of survival if ECMO was appropriately initiated.
When the paramedic put the child on ECMO they were not sterile, causing the child to have a life threatening infection. The line that they inserted on camera was a small central line, ECMO cannulas are the size of a garden hose. They were rewarming him on ECMO, the warmer is a separate, large, piece of equipment that was not present in the back of this van. Without this warmer the ECMO circuit will only warm a person to room temperature, as seen in the scene in the van it is snowing. It takes several hours to rewarm a hypothermic patient, if you go too fast you will kill them.
I know what I am talking about, I take care of ECMO patients daily. This child has a 30% chance of survival if ECMO was appropriately initiated.