You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Critical care
Mucosal bleeding while on venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in the setting of vitamin C deficiency
  1. Muhamad Aljeaidi1,2,
  2. Xavier Marco Fiorilla2,
  3. Bianca Mammana2 and
  4. Matthew Anstey3,4,5
  1. 1 The University of Western Australia Medical School, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  2. 2 Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
  3. 3 Intensive Care, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
  4. 4 The University of Western Australia Medical School, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
  5. 5 School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  1. Correspondence to Dr Matthew Anstey; matthew.anstey{at}health.wa.gov.au

Abstract

A major complication with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is bleeding which can occur in up to 40% of cases and can be life-threatening. Minor bleeding may be overlooked and under-reported. While some of the underlying mechanisms such as platelet injury and anticoagulation therapy have been identified, several other factors are still under-researched. Here, we describe a unique case of a subtle mucosal membrane bleeding that is found to be associated with vitamin C deficiency while on treatment with ECMO. Investigating vitamin C levels may be useful in understanding causes of bleeding in some patients on ECMO therapy, particularly if there are risk factors for malnutrition.

  • Intensive care
  • Adult intensive care
  • Nutrition and metabolism
  • Vitamins and supplements
  • Nutritional support

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2023-259185

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    View Full Text

    Footnotes

    • Contributors The following authors were responsible for drafting of the text, sourcing and editing of clinical images, investigation results, drawing original diagrams and algorithms, and critical revision for important intellectual content: MAljeaidi: original draft of manuscript, data collection and literature review. XMF: revision of the manuscript, assistance with data collection and patient follow-up. BM: manuscript review and editing, involved in the patient’s care. MAnstey: manuscript review and editing, treating consultant. The following authors gave final approval of the manuscript: all.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Case reports provide a valuable learning resource for the scientific community and can indicate areas of interest for future research. They should not be used in isolation to guide treatment choices or public health policy.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.