Table 1.

Effect of critical illness and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) on pharmacokinetics (PK) of drugs, based on degree of lipophilicity

	Hydrophilic drugs	Lipophilic drugs
Volume of distribution (Vd)	Low	High
Primary mode of clearance	Renal	Hepatic
Log P	Low	High
Potential effect of critical illness on PK	Increased Vd	No change in Vd
Effect of ECMO on PK	Increased Vd	Increased Vd
	No change in clearance	Increased clearance

Log P: octanol‐water partition coefficient (measure of drug’s lipophilicity)