Objective: To report a case of pH1N1 viral infection presenting as heart failure requiring mechanical extracorporeal life support.
Design: Case report.
Setting: Pediatric intensive care unit at a regional children's hospital.
Patient: Obese 15-yr-old boy who presented with pH1N1-related cardiomyopathy and respiratory failure that required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
Interventions: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, echocardiography, high-frequency oscillating ventilation.
Measurements and main results: Discovery of severe dilated cardiomyopathy and respiratory failure.
Conclusions: Patients with pH1N1 may present in profound heart failure in addition to respiratory failure. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation may play an important role in managing these complex patients.