Table 2.
Reporting of ECMO-related outcomes and complication rate
| Outcome | Number of studies reporting data (events/population) | Pooled rate (95%CI) | I2 (p value) | Reported range (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mortality | ||||
| Brain death | 4 (154/1042) | 13.1 (9.4; 17.8) | 65% (0.035) | 7.6–16.6 |
| Death during ECMO | 14 (2909/7783) | 42.9 (38.3; 47.7) | 91% (< 0.001) | 33.4–53.5 |
| In-hospital mortality | 32 (8493/12756) | 62.2 (58.8; 65.5) | 92% (< 0.001) | 40.3–75.2 |
| Stroke | ||||
| CNS complications (not specified) | 7 (360/2450) | 12.5 (13.9; 16.8) | 82% (< 0.001) | 5.4–19.1 |
| Cerebral bleeding/hemorrhagic stroke | 12 (263/3969) | 5.6 (3.4; 9.0) | 92% (< 0.001) | 2.7–25.4 |
| Ischemic stroke | 13 (414/4371) | 9.8 (7.2; 13.1) | 89% (< 0.001) | 1.4–26.9 |
| Stroke (not otherwise specified) | 10 (206/2704) | 8.6 (5.3; 13.5) | 91% (< 0.001) | 2.3–25.5 |
| Renal failure | ||||
| Renal failure | 7 (693/1351) | 50.5 (31.7; 69.2) | 97% (< 0.001) | 9.5–85.7 |
| Renal replacement therapy | 23 (4879/11186) | 44.3 (39.2; 49.5) | 96% (< 0.001) | 10.3–70.5 |
| Infections | ||||
| Infection (not otherwise specified) | 4 (290/1395) | 18.8 (14.3; 24.2) | 80% (0.002) | 13.0–24.7 |
| Pneumonia | 8 (617/2298) | 23.7 (16.2; 33.3) | 95% (< 0.001) | 7.9–61.0 |
| Sepsis | 9 (489/2529) | 17.8 (14.3; 21.9) | 83% (< 0.001) | 6.4–28.2 |
| MODS | 3 (171/584) | 24.4 (13.3; 40.4) | 93% (< 0.001) | 8.9–37.3 |
| Bleeding | ||||
| Any bleeding | 15 (1971/4523) | 48.5 (40.6; 56.4) | 96% (< 0.001) | 17.8–97.0 |
| Surgical site bleeding | 2 (66/390) | 14.9 (3.7; 44.4) | 96% (< 0.001) | 7.4–27.3 |
| Cannulation site bleeding | 8 (224/1464) | 16.8 (11.1; 24.7) | 91% (< 0.001) | 3.9–28.4 |
| Gastrointestinal bleeding | 6 (74/1335) | 5.9 (3.3; 10.5) | 84% (< 0.001) | 0.9–12.3 |
| Cardiac tamponade | 3 (42/406) | 10.5 (7.9; 13.9) | 0% (0.423) | 8.4–12.7 |
| Pulmonary hemorrhage | 2 (24/305) | 8.4 (3.5; 18.7) | 79% (0.029) | 5.4–12.7 |
| Disseminated intravascular coagulation | 1 (26/148) | – | – | – |
| Hemolysis | 1 (6/462) | – | – | – |
| Thrombosis | ||||
| Any thrombosis | 5 (187/921) | 13.4 (6.7; 25.1) | 93% (< 0.001) | 2.0–34.0 |
| Limb ischemia | 23 (868/5932) | 12.2 (8.7; 16.9) | 96% (< 0.001) | 3.7–43.9 |
| Limb amputation | 5 (19/1368) | 1.5 (1.0; 2.3) | 0% (0.733) | 0.4–1.9 |
| Arterial thrombosis | 1 (63/344) | – | – | – |
| Venous thrombosis | 1 (11/344) | – | – | – |
| Pulmonary embolism | 1 (3/203) | – | – | – |
| Mechanical complications | ||||
| Circuit component clots | 3 (12/771) | 1.8 (0.5; 6.7) | 81% (0.006) | 0.9–5.7 |
| Oxygenator replacements | 4 (111/1253) | 9.0 (3.7; 20.3) | 92% (< 0.001) | 0.0–25.6 |
ECMO Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, CNS Central nervous system, MODS Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome