Extubation Practices and Outcomes During Pediatric Respiratory Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Analysis of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry, 2018-2022.

Objectives: To evaluate the outcomes associated with extubation during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in pediatric patients.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) registry, 2018-2022.

Setting: Multicenter and international database of all ECMO centers in the ELSO registry.

Patients: Patients between 30 days and 18 years old receiving pulmonary ECMO support.

Interventions: None.

Measurements And Main Results: Overall, 2178 patients were included, of which 105 were extubated during ECMO support (4.8%). Analysis of pre-ECMO data failed to identify an association between extubation strategy and severity using the Pediatric Pulmonary Rescue with ECMO Prediction (P-PREP) score. Use of extubation, vs. not, was associated with older age (median, 6.1 vs. 2.5 yr; p = 0.006), and longer ECMO duration (median 12.9 vs. 7.1 d; p < 0.0001). We failed to identify an association between the use of extubation, vs. not, and ECMO complications. In a propensity matching analysis with 3:1 matching of nonextubated to extubated cases, mortality was 34.3% and 43.8%, respectively (p = 0.08). In the matched subset, extubation, vs. not, was associated with shorter median PICU length of stay (LOS) after decannulation (6.6 vs. 12.2 d; p = 0.001) and higher use of mobilization (28.6% vs. 9.8%; p < 0.0001). In a multivariable analysis, we failed to identify an association between using the extubation strategy, vs. not, and greater odds of mortality (odds ratio, 1.74; 95% CI, 0.94-3.27; p = 0.08). However, we cannot exclude the possibility that the use of an extubation strategy is associated with greater odds of mortality.

Conclusions: In the 2018-2022 ELSO registry data, extubating pediatric patients on ECMO for pulmonary cause was an uncommon practice, associated with improved mobility and decreased ICU LOS after ECMO decannulation. However, given the concerns about mortality, careful consideration of patient candidacy and further studies are needed.