Peking University, February 7, 2022: On January 21, 2022, Little Hope, the first newborn baby cured by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) at Peking University Third Hospital (PUTH), was finally discharged. This challenging treatment would not have been possible without inter-hospital and multidisciplinary cooperation.

On the morning of December 21, 2021, the PUTH Department of Pediatrics received a call for help from another hospital: a baby born at 40 weeks with respiratory failure and heart failure caused by severe asphyxia and meconium aspiration was in urgent need of transporting. The Department reacted immediately and escorted the baby into the neonatal intensive care center (NICU) of PUTH in about 2 hours. However, despite maximal resuscitation efforts, the baby’s condition continued to deteriorate.

Heads and experts of the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Cardiac Surgery held a joint consultation and decided to initiate ECMO treatment immediately. In only 2 hours, an ECMO treatment team was assembled, composed of experts from PUTH, Bayi Children’s Hospital, and Beijing Anzhen Hospital.


VA-ECMO is a life support system for critically ill newborns. During its application, the blood is drained from the right atrium, pumped outside the body, oxygenated in an artificial membrane lung, and then sent back to the body via carotid arteries. The ECMO technique is very difficult to operate and is even more demanding when applied to newborn babies with low weights. Due to its high risk, few hospitals in China offer this treatment.
 

With the joint effort of multiple departments, the baby’s vital signs were effectively maintained by ECMO, while primary organ damages and postoperative complications were also progressively cured. The baby was named Little Hope, carrying everyone’s best wishes. ECMO was successfully removed 7 days later, and Little Hope was discharged from the hospital after a period of recovery.
 

This successful ECMO treatment not only demonstrates the effective multidisciplinary cooperation at Peking University Third Hospital but also reflects the high integrity of medical resources in Beijing.
 

Written by: Liu Chang
Edited by: Li Wanqi
Source: PKU News (Chinese)