Pediatric and neonatal extracorporeal life support technology component utilization: are US clinicians implementing new technology?

The objective of this investigation is to describe recent changes made in extracorporeal life support (ECLS) technology in the US Postal survey to directors and coordinators of all 125 US ECLS centers identified by Extracorporeal Life Support Organization as of November 2010, with follow-up of nonrespondents. Spearman coefficients were used to correlate the method of updating knowledge of ECLS technology with the likelihood of changing technology, and to correlate decision-making hierarchy with the likelihood of changing equipment. The response rate was 75% representing 34 states, and the majority of respondents were ECLS coordinators (56.

Neonatal extracorporeal life support: will the newest technology reduce morbidity?

The objectives of this review are to describe the Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) research at the Penn State Pediatric Cardiovascular Research evaluating new pediatric ECLS components and to discuss a proposed continuous quality improvement model after implementation of new technology. Review of current literature pertaining to studies at the Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital (PSHCH) is presented along with a retrospective chart review of ECLS pediatric patients from January 2000 to June 2010. We describe improvements in the newest hollow-fiber oxygenator demonstrating a lower pressure drop (compared with silicone), and in the newest RotaFlow centrifugal pump which allows higher hemodynamic energy delivered to the patient at higher flow rates with less retrograde flow.

Pediatric extracorporeal life support systems: education and training at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital.

The following is a description of the training offered to extracorporeal life support (ECLS)-trained staff at the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. Changes with the ECLS circuit prompted the need for an initiative to train staff in the care of patients requiring ECLS support. In addition to didactic material, we incorporated a “hands-on” approach in designing the education.