Refractory hypoxemia in an infant-A case for extracorporeal support

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a standard modality to treat refractory hypoxemia in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in developed countries. However, it's usage is limited in developing countries like India, where very few tertiary care PICU centres have used it with success. We report a case of 11 months old infant with necrotising bacterial pneumonia with severe ARDS and septic shock who failed on conventional and high frequency mechanical ventilation, but was successfully managed with veno-arterial ECMO support.