Mobile ECMO retrieval of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic concerns have arisen that rationing of life-saving therapies, such as mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), could be necessary due to a surge of patients overwhelming available resources and treatment capacities [1]. ECMO support is particularly resource intensive and should therefore be provided in highly specialized centers, operating formally or informally within a so-called "Hub and Spoke" concept [2, 3]. Consequently, patient transfer capacity between hospitals according to the services needed must be provided to make most effective use of available resources [4]. Occasionally, patients requiring ECMO support must be transferred after out-of-center initiation of ECMO by a mobile ECMO retrieval team [5]. While this approach has been successfully established in various ECMO centers before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, data on the feasibility and the results of out-of-center initiation of ECMO during the pandemic is scarce [6]. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.