Central venous catheter placement at the time of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation decannulation: is it safe?

Purpose: Because of concerns for infectious and hemorrhagic complications, methods of obtaining central venous access after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) vary by institution. For infants requiring ECMO, it has been our practice to exchange the venous cannula for a tunneled central venous catheter (Broviac) at the time of decannulation. The purpose of this study is to compare the incidence of catheter-related complications in these patients to a national registry.