Transportation of patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: a tertiary medical center experience and systematic review of the literature.

Background: Utilization of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has increased worldwide, but its use remains restricted to severely ill patients, and few referral centers are properly structured to offer this support. Inter-hospital transfer of patients on ECMO support can be life-threatening. In this study, we report a single-center experience and a systematic review of the available published data on complications and mortality associated with ECMO transportation.

Blood flow/pump rotation ratio as an artificial lung performance monitoring tool during extracorporeal respiratory support using centrifugal pumps.

Objective: To analyze the correlations of the blood flow/pump rotation ratio and the transmembrane pressure, CO2 and O2 transfer during the extracorporeal respiratory support.

Methods: Five animals were instrumented and submitted to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a five-step protocol, including abdominal sepsis and lung injury.

Results: This study showed that blood flow/pump rotations ratio variations are dependent on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation blood flow in a positive logarithmic fashion.