Ten years of the neonatal respiratory extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program in an Argentinian public hospital.

Introduction: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a highly invasive rescue treatment for critically-ill patients. The objective of the study was to show the outcomes of patients treated with ECMO in the neonatal intensive care unit of Hospital de Pediatria Juan P. Garrahan in the first 10 years of the program, and to analyze the risk factors associated with mortality on ECMO.

Method: Descriptive, retrospective study with risk factor analysis. All patients treated with ECMO between April 2008 and February 2019 were included.

Results: A total of 77 patients were included: 72 neonates and 5 infants younger than 1 year. Patients' median age at admission was 2 days (1-150); weight: 3200 g ± 730 g; gestational age: 37.5 weeks ± 4.2; 53 % were males; and 50 % had been born by C-section. The most common diagnoses included congenital diaphragmatic hernia and meconium aspiration syndrome. Fifty-six patients (73 %) survived ECmO; of them, 17 (30 %) died before discharge. The outcome measures associated with mortality on ECMO were central nervous system hemorrhage (p < 0.01), hémodiafiltration requirement (p < 0.01), inotrope requirement during ECMO (p < 0.01), and presence of hemorrhage not affecting the central nervous system (p < 0.01).

Conclusions: This study describes the outcomes of the first 10 years of the neonatal respiratory ECMO program. The onset of complications increased mortality during ECMO.