Articles & News

Subscribe to our blog to get the latest in ECMO articles and news.

Email Address

Successful Use of the CARDIOHELP system for Neonates

The ECMO Advantage team has completed successful use of the CARDIOHELP system for neonates.  After several months of planning, training, reconfiguring circuit, and waiting, the ECMO Advantage team has finally had the opportunity to manage three patients with Maquet’s CARDIOHELP.  For the two neonatal patients, we used a modified 1/4 inch circuit adapted to the […]

Read More

Will ExtraCorporeal Support Replace the Ventilator?

Will extracorporeal support replace the ventilator? Traditional ECMO has focused on providing life support for the sickest of the sick once conventional ventilation methods are maximized. But what about using minimally invasive or smaller extracorporeal systems to provide support that would prevent patients from needing to be intubated? Or what if extracorporeal support was used […]

Read More

Ventilator Management on ECMO

Ventilator Management on ECMO has been a debatable topic for many years.   There have been many approaches to managing the sick lung without ECMO support that still create a lot of debate.  But when you add in the complexities of the ECMO system and support processes it becomes even more difficult to find consensus on the best […]

Read More

“ECMO for ARDS in pediatric and adult trauma patients”…UPDATE FROM SEECMO

ECMO for ARDS in pediatric and adult trauma patients? Yes – even with CHI (Closed Head Injury) ! ECMO is being used in these patients with great results. As we are all aware, ARDS is a known complication in trauma patients due to both injury and the results of aggressive resuscitation efforts. Even with attentive measures […]

Read More

E-CPR: The Next Frontier in Extracorporeal Life Support?

The challenge will be to decide when and where to initiate E-CPR.

Read More

D-Dimer Monitoring for ECMO Coagulopathy Management…One More Piece of the Puzzle?

Could D-dimer monitoring for ECMO coagulation management be a critical piece of the puzzle? The ability to keep a circuit from clotting off  while at the same time not allowing the patient to bleed to death has been a battle in the extracorporeal world for many years.  In an  I listed my top 5 lab […]

Read More

ECMO and Consent: The Importance of Communication

Consent and Disclosure in Pediatric Heart Surgery The trust that families give healthcare workers is immense. To break that trust by lack of communication is heart breaking. The healthcare community should read this story, perhaps this entire book. We are given a great charge to take care of our patients, and by extension, their families. […]

Read More

Moving ECMO from “Last Ditch Effort” to ECMO as Mode of Support to Improve Quality of Life

As with almost everything in healthcare, weighing the benefits of a therapy or support vs. the adverse effects of that therapy or support can result in widely variable opinions.  I think most involved in ECMO support would agree that historically, many institutions too often use ECMO as a “last ditch effort”.  Often we hear doctors […]

Read More

Annual Competency Checks for ECMO/ECLS Teams

Spring time – such a lovely time of the year! The cherry trees are blooming, the daffodils are so pretty. It’s time to dust off the winter blahs, think about renewal and growth… Oh – and it’s time to think about the calendar! When are we going to do our annual competencies? Yikes!Annual competencies are […]

Read More