To the Editor: Treatment of critically ill pregnant women is challenging, and information on medication use during pregnancy is scant. We describe the case of a pregnant woman who required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), prolonged sedation and paralysis to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza.
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- 1 St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, NSW.
- 2 NSW Medicines Information Centre, Sydney, NSW.
Correspondence: swelch@stvincents.com.au
- 1. Mangtani P, Mak T, Pfeifer D. Pandemic H1N1 infection in pregnant women in the USA. Lancet 2009; 374: 429-430.
- 2. King PT, Rosalion A, McMillan J, et al. ECMO in pregnancy. Lancet 2000; 356: 45-46.
- 3. Webb SA, Pettilä V, Seppelt I, et al. Critical care services and 2009 H1N1 influenza in Australia and New Zealand. N Engl J Med 2009; 361: 1925-1934.
- 4. Davies A, Jones D, Bailey M, et al. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for 2009 influenza A (H1N1) acute respiratory distress syndrome. JAMA 2009; 302: 1888-1895.
- 5. Peek G, Mugford M, Tiruvoipat R, et al. Efficacy and economic assessment of conventional ventilatory support versus extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for severe adult respiratory failure (CESAR): a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2009; 374: 1351-1363.
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