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10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi.2022.22741
Postcardiotomy extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for infective endocarditis in a patient with intravenous drug use and COVID-19 infection: An ethical dilemma
Stephanie Jiang1, Zachariah Mansour2, Campbell David3, Payne Darrin1, El-Diasty Mohammad1
1Division of Cardiac Surgery, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, Canada
2Critical Care Medicine, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, Canada
3Ethicist, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, Canada
DOI : 10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi.2022.22741
In this report, we present a case of native valve infective
endocarditis due to active intravenous drug use in a 29-yearold
female patient that presented during the peak of the
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The patient
underwent a complex cardiac surgical intervention with aortic
valve replacement and mitral valve repair. Postcardiotomy
extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support
was required due to severe biventricular dysfunction. In this
unprecedented situation, multiple ethical dilemmas arose at
different stages in the management of this patient. These
dilemmas stemmed from the lack of evidence supporting the
use of postcardiotomy ECMO in patients with active intravenous
drug use and the scarcity of resources due to the COVID-19
pandemic, resulting in pressure put on our healthcare system.
In this case report, we present the decisions made by our team,
taking into account both the patient"s best interests and the
available resources. We hope this decision-making process will
serve as a valuable learning experience for other teams and will
act as an antecedent for similar situations in the future.
Keywords : COVID19, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, infectious endocarditis, intravenous drug use, medical ethics
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