[Acute respiratory distress due to Influenza A (H1N1) S-OIV and extracorporeal oxygenation: the benefit of a multidisciplinary care network].

Between August and September 2009, on Reunion Island, our Intensive Care Unit (ICU) treated several severe Influenza A (H1N1) S-OIV cases. We report the following case: a 23-year-old female patient with no prior medical history presented a severe respiratory distress that required high frequency oscillation ventilation and finally Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). She was hospitalized in the ICU for 41 days. Recovery was complete. It is important to note the stead of each technique in those types of respiratory distresses and describe the practical details of the ECMO's set up by a non-trained medical crew. We want to underline, within the current context of severe respiratory distresses due to Influenza A pandemic, the necessity to develop a multidisciplinary care network, or to reinforce the existing channels between well-trained medical crews familiar with ECMO's technics and the ICU that are not.