Critical Care for Multiple Organ Failure Secondary to Ebola Virus Disease in the United States

OBJECTIVE:This report describes three patients with Ebola virus disease who were treated in the United States and developed for severe critical illness and multiple organ failure secondary to Ebola virus infection. The patients received mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, invasive monitoring, vasopressor support, and investigational therapies for Ebola virus disease. DATA SOURCES:Patient medical records from three tertiary care centers (Emory University Hospital, University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas Hospital). STUDY SELECTION:Not applicable. DATA EXTRACTION:Not applicable. DATA SYNTHESIS:Not applicable. CONCLUSION:In the severe form, patients with Ebola virus disease may require life-sustaining therapy, including mechanical ventilation and renal replacement therapy. In conjunction with other reported cases, this series suggests that respiratory and renal failure may occur in severe Ebola virus disease, especially in patients burdened with high viral loads. Ebola virus disease complicated by multiple organ failure can be survivable with the application of advanced life support measures. This collective, multicenter experience is presented with the hope that it may inform future treatment of patients with Ebola virus disease requiring critical care treatment.