2025 Volume 32 Article ID: 32_R30
We experienced a case of acute respiratory distress syndrome and circulatory failure due to severe acute pancreatitis, which veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) was successfully employed. The patient was a 45-year-old male who presented with epigastric pain and hypoxemia and was admitted to the ICU. On admission, he had severe hypoxemia and circulatory failure of unknown etiology, necessitating VA-ECMO initiation. He was weaned off VA-ECMO on the second day and from the ventilator on the sixth day of admission. Initial blood test results showed elevated pancreatic enzyme levels, and CT revealed mildly elevated lipid concentrations in the pancreatic head. To investigate the cause, contrast-enhanced CT of the chest and abdomen was performed on the seventh day of hospitalization, which revealed swelling of the entire pancreas and findings consistent with severe acute pancreatitis. Respiratory and circulatory failure, initially of unknown cause at admission was later determined to be due to severe acute pancreatitis. Subsequently, his condition improved. On the 11th hospital day, he was discharged from the ICU, and on the 24th hospital day, he was discharged as a home ambulator, We successfully treated a case of severe acute pancreatitis complicated by respiratory and circulatory failure using VA-ECMO.
