Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal in heart-beating donor with acute severe asthma: A case report.

Status asthmaticus is a life-threatening disorder that can manifest in dangerous levels of hypercapnia and acidosis. The use of extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) has been used successfully to control pH and PaCO2 in patients with acute severe asthma. The present report describes the use of this technology in near-fatal asthma with brain death, and awaiting organ harvest. The ProLUNG® system consists of a veno-venous hemoperfusion circuit with an artificial lung polymethylpentene membrane coated with phosphorylcholine with a surface of 1.81 m2. The system can reach a blood flow of 450 ml/min trough a double-lumen central venous catheter (13.0 Fr) placed in femoral, subclavian or jugular vein. The platform is provided with automated management of airflow and VCO2 monitoring during treatment. The patient was maintained on extracorporeal treatment ensuring stable arterial pH control and PaCO2 control. In acute status asthmaticus, complicated with cardiac arrest, mini-invasive ECCO2R was an effective method of controlling pH and PaCO2, for optimizing hemodynamic and aerobic metabolism and for performing protective ventilation for an optimal organ donor preservation until the organ harvest occurs.