Early extracorporeal life support as rescue for Wegener granulomatosis with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage and acute respiratory distress syndrome: a case report and literature review.

OBJECTIVE

The study's objective was to report a case and review the literature on the use of extracorporeal life support in the face of severe pulmonary hemorrhage for acute respiratory distress syndrome.

STUDY SELECTION: This study is a single case report of a pediatric patient who was successfully managed on venovenous extracorporeal life support for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome with acute pulmonary hemorrhage secondary to Wegener disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Extracorporeal life support can be used successfully in selected patients with respiratory failure with pulmonary hemorrhage. The cautious use of anticoagulation should be balanced with the risk of bleeding, mindful of the need for other measures to mitigate severe bleeding if this should occur.