First lung transplant in Wuhan for a critical and elderly COVID‐19 patient

Abstract

Abstract Introduction We report the case of a 65‐year‐old Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) patient with pneumonia and subsequent end‐stage pulmonary failure who required 63 days of mechanical ventilation (MV) and 62 days of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Methods On Day 45, a comprehensive interdisciplinary discussion on the best course of treatment resulted in the general consensus that his lungs would not recover. As such, he was evaluated and listed for a lung transplant. Results We performed a bilateral lung transplant, and the patient was weaned off ECMO and MV postoperatively. This is the first report of lung transplants in patients with COVID‐19 in Wuhan. Conclusions We suggest that a lung transplantation may be a viable treatment for patients with end‐stage pulmonary failure secondary to COVID‐19 in selected situations.

Keywords

• COVID‐19
• lung transplant
• pulmonary failure