Fig 1. Effect of cannula size and blood flow on hemolysis induction regarding VA ECMO patients with fHb pre ≤ 100 mg/l (without pump head thrombosis).
15 Fr n = 86, 17 Fr n = 36. (A) Cannula size (Fr, French) had no effect on fHb levels on 1st and 2nd day on ECMO. (B) 17 Fr cannulas required a significantly higher blood flow compared to 15 Fr cannulas. (C) High blood flow (≥ 3 l/min) within 15 Fr cannulas induced significantly higher fHb levels compared to low blood flow (≤ 2.5 l/min). The median is shown as a black line in the box. The 25% or 75% quantile represents the lower or upper limit of the box. The smallest and largest observation is shown as whiskers, extreme values as circles.