Capgras syndrome: a clinical manifestation of watershed cerebral infarct complicating the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Ischaemic cerebral accidents are frequent following extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), especially after fixing the reinjection cannula in the right primitive carotid artery, which leads to an interruption in downstre am flow. We describe a rare and unusual symptom of cerebral ischaemic accid ent that is known as Capgras syndrome. This feature is interesting because it may be documented by computed tomography (CT) scan and particular electr oencephalography signals. It appears that our observation represents the fi rst documented case of Capgras syndrome complicating ECMO. This incident em phasizes the potential hazards associated with right common artery ligature for venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VAECMO). In addition , it shows that this psychiatric symptom (that has been interpreted psychod ynamically for many years) can have an organic basis, which should be studi ed.