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. 1986 Sep;204(3):236–245. doi: 10.1097/00000658-198609000-00003

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in neonatal respiratory failure. 100 cases.

R H Bartlett, A B Gazzaniga, J Toomasian, A G Coran, D Roloff, R Rucker, A G Corwin
PMCID: PMC1251270  PMID: 3530151

Abstract

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was used in the treatment of 100 newborn infants with respiratory failure in three phases: Phase I (50 moribund patients to determine safety, efficacy, and risks); Phase II (30 high risk patients to compare ECMO to conventional ventilation); and Phase III (20 moderate to high risk patients, the current protocol). Seventy-two patients survived including 54% in Phase I, 90% in Phase II, and 90% in Phase III. The major complication was intracranial bleeding, which occurred in 89% of premature infants (less than 35 weeks) and 15% of full-term infants. Best survival results were in persistent fetal circulation (10, 10 survived), followed by congenital diaphragmatic hernia (9, 7 survived), meconium aspiration (44, 37 survived), respiratory distress syndrome (26, 13 survived), and sepsis (8, 3 survived). There were seven late deaths; in follow-up, 63% are normal or near normal, 17% had moderate to severe central nervous system dysfunction, and 8% had severe pulmonary dysfunction. ECMO is now used in several neonatal centers as the treatment of choice for full-term infants with respiratory failure that is unresponsive to conventional management. The success of this technique establishes prolonged extracorporeal circulation as a definitive means of treatment in reversible vital organ failure.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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