Acute respiratory failure. Survival following ten days' support with a membrane lung.

An 11-year-old boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission developed a bilateral pneumonia which rapidly progressed to acute respiratory failure. During 9 days of intensive therapy the patient's respiratory status progressively deteriorated. When it became impossible to maintain the arterial oxygen tension (PAO2) above 40 mm.Hg by conventional means, extracorporeal blood-gas exchange with a membrane lung was begun. After 5 days of bypass the patient's respiratory function began to improve, and he was weaned from the membrane lung on the tenth day. Seven days later he was discharged from the hospital and is currently in excellemt health 23 months after bypass. This perfusion, the longest successful effort to provide respiratory assist with a membrane lung, attests to the efficacy of this therapeutic modality.