Children with Near-Fatal Asthma: The Use of Inhaled Volatile Anesthetics and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been described for near-fatal asthma that continues to be refractory despite maximal medical therapy. Patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit at Texas Children's Hospital from 2012 to 2020 with the diagnosis of asthma who were supported on ECMO or isoflurane were included in the study. Patient demographics, medication usage, and complications were compared between the case group (ECMO,  = 12) and the control group (isoflurane only,  = 8).