Trying last-ditch lung bypass for worst swine flu

WASHINGTON (AP) — A decades-old technology originally developed for premature babies is being dusted off by some intensive-care doctors as a treatment for worst case swine flu patients.

The machines, known as ECMO, are gaining attention after Australian researchers reported that they helped during that country's outbreak of what scientists call the 2009 H1N1 flu strain.

ECMO is a twist on the heart-lung machine used for open-heart surgery, modified so that patients can stay on the machine for weeks instead of just hours. Tubes carry blood out of the body so a filter can remove carbon dioxide and reinfuse oxygen, and then dump the blood back. They key is blood doesn't have to bypass the heart if only the lungs need a rest.

It's a risky approach using equipment that only certain specialized hospitals have. But some doctors think they're worth trying as a last-ditch measure.

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<<CUT …321 (11/23/09)>> 00:15 "need a rest."

Ross Simpson

AP correspondent Ross Simpson reports doctors treating the worst swine flu patients are dusting off some decades-old technology called ECMO.

<<CUT …320 (11/23/09)>> 00:17 "H1N1 flu strain."

Ross Simpson

AP correspondent Ross Simpson reports doctors in this country are trying a last-ditch lung bypass to help severely ill swine flu patients breathe.

<<CUT …319 (11/23/09)>> 00:26 "''

Ross Simpson

Technology originally developed for premature babies shows promise for the sickest swine flu patients. AP correspondent Ross Simpson reports.

<<APPHOTO WX105 (11/20/09)>>

: Ryan Damm, 19, a swine flu patient whose life was saved by using a lung-bypass technology called ECMO, sees his physician, Dr. Jeff DeMare at Children's Hospital of Omaha in Omaha, Neb., Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, as his mother, Susie Damm, watches. A technology originally developed for premature babies may be helping to save some of the sickest swine flu patients, by rerouting their blood so their lungs can rest.

<<APPHOTO WX106 (11/20/09)>>

: Ryan Damm, 19, a swine flu patient whose life was saved by using a lung-bypass technology called ECMO, sees his physician, Dr. Jeff DeMare at Children's Hospital of Omaha in Omaha, Neb., Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, as his mother Susie Damm watches. A technology originally developed for premature babies may be helping to save some of the sickest swine flu patients, by rerouting their blood so their lungs can rest.