Life-threatening central airway obstruction managed with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a 92-year-old patient: a case letter

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Author contributions

Higami S and Yamagiwa T contributed to conception and design. Higami S, Yamagiwa T, and Natori J contributed to the provision of study materials or patients. All authors contributed to manuscript writing and final approval of the manuscript.

Funding

None.

Ethical approval of studies and informed consent

The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work and ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (revised in 2013). The Ebina General Hospital Ethics Committee’s guideline states that the publication of case reports is exempt from ethics approval. As the patient lacked the capacity to provide consent, written informed consent was obtained from the patient’s daughter.

Acknowledgements

We thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.

References

[1] Norii T, Igarashi Y, Kim SH, et al. Protocol for a nationwide prospective, observational cohort study of foreign-body airway obstruction in Japan: the MOCHI registry. BMJ Open. 2020; 10(7): e039689. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039689.

[2] Igarashi Y, Norii T, Kim SH, Seasonal choking in Japan: Japanese rice cake (mochi), ehomaki, and beans for Setsubun. Resuscitation. 2020;150:90-91. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2020.03.013.

[3] Taniguchi Y, Iwagami M, Sakata N, Watanabe T, Abe K, Tamiya N . Epidemiology of food choking deaths in Japan: time trends and regional variations. J Epidemiol. 2021; 31(5): 356-360. doi: 10.2188/jea.JE20200057.

[4] Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan . Vital Statistics of Japan 2023. Accessed May 20, 2025. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/jinkou/kakutei23/index.html.

[5] Zhan J, Du Y, Wu J, et al. The global, regional, and national burden of foreign bodies from 1990 to 2019: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. BMC Public Health. 2024; 24(1): 337. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-17838-x.

[6] Sehgal IS, Dhooria S, Ram B, et al. Foreign body inhalation in the adult population: experience of 25,998 bronchoscopies and systematic review of the literature. Respir Care. 2015; 60(10): 1438-1448. doi: 10.4187/respcare.03976.

[7] Holliday T, Jackson A . Emergency use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for a foreign body obstructing the airway. Crit Care Resusc. 2010; 12(4): 273-275. doi: 10.1016/S1441-2772(23)01348-0.

[8] Hemead HM, Ramadan A, Gaafar AH, Nossier A, Abdelaziz A . Different modalities used in the art of managing tracheobronchial foreign bodies. Open Respir Med J. 2022; 16: e187430642206100. doi: 10.2174/18743064-v16-e2206100.

[9] Tonna JE, Abrams D, Brodie D, et al. Management of adult patients supported with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO): guideline from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). ASAIO J. 2021; 67(6): 601-610. doi: 10.1097/MAT.0000000000001432.

[10] Garzón Ruiz JP, Giraldo Bejarano E, Mercado Díaz MA, Pardo Turriago R . Anticoagulation in ECMO: target values to reduce hemorrhagic complications in adults. A retrospective cohort study. ASAIO J. 2025; 71(9): 744-751. doi: 10.1097/MAT.0000000000002415.

[11] Papanikolaou V, Goh E, Carrandi A, et al. Health resource utilization and outcomes among patients who receive extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. CJC Open. 2025; 7(6): 750-758. doi: 10.1016/j.cjco.2025.03.019.