Abstract

Refractory asthma with hypercapnia is a near-fatal disease. Pumpless Extracorporeal Interventional Lung Assist (iLA) may be considered as an alternative therapy for the disease as it removes the carbon dioxide effectively. Nevertheless, clinical outcome studies regarding iLA in patients suffering from refractory asthma have rarely been applied. Here, we reported our experience with iLA for the treatment of refractory asthma with hypercapnia. In our case, the patient had refractory asthma which was not controlled with medical treatment or mechanical ventilation. We applied iLA since hypercapnia was not resolved despite mechanical ventilation. After iLA implantation effectively reduced the carbon dioxide, the clinical condition of our patient improved. In conclusion, iLA is a useful tool for patient suffering from refractory asthma with hypercapnia.

• Keywords: asthma;extracorporeal oxygenation;hypercapnia;iLA