Carbon monoxide accumulation during extracoporeal membrane oxygenation for acute respiratory failure.

A marked increase in the carbon monoxide level in the blood sufficient to interfere with oxygen binding of hemoglobin was observed in a 43-year-old man during the course of extracorporeal membrane oxygenator support for acute respiratory failure from viral pneumonitis. The increased carbon monoxide level in this man was temporally related to the transfusion of large amounts of old bank blood. The etiology of an increased level of carbon monoxide in the blood during extracorporeal circulation is discussed and solutions to this problem are suggested.