Lung replacement therapies for acute respiratory failure

Acute respiratory failure is one of the critical conditions with an increased mortality. In order to reverse lung injury and reduce the mortality rate, several lung replacement therapies have been developed, including the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, the intravascular oxygenator and carbon dioxide removal device, the intravenous membrane oxygenator and the thoracic artificial lung. This article aims to present the properties, indications and advantages of these devices.