This article shows a cohort study that compared the duration on mechanical ventilation prior to ECMO initiation in survivors and non survivors in patients with COVID-19.
This study, showed that the mortality in patients who started ECMO early (mechanical ventilation for 4 +/-2 days) was less than the mortality for the ones who started ECMO late (mechanical ventilation for 9 +/- 2 days). If ECMO was started more than 7 days after mechanical ventilation the mortality reached 100%
The study shows the possibility that, if patients with refractory hypoxemia with COVID-19 can be identified early, the early use of ECMO can potentially be of mortality benefit.