Dtsch Arztebl Int
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Multicenter Study
Extracorporeal lung support in H1N1 provoked acute respiratory failure: the experience of the German ARDS Network.
During the H1N1 pandemic of 2009 and 2010, the large number of patients with severe respiratory failure due to H1N1 infection strained the capacities of treatment facilities for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) around the world. No data on this topic have yet been published for Germany. ⋯ Even persons without any other accompanying disease developed life-threatening respiratory failure as a result of H1N1 infection, and many of these patients needed ECMO. This study reveals for the first time that the mortality of H1N1 infection in Germany is comparable to that in other countries. H1N1 patients with acute respiratory failure had a worse outcome if they also had serious accompanying diseases.