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ECLS Cannulation Technical Updates

The discussions about ECLS cannulation may involve many different issues. Who may cannulate in your institution? This publication offers data to say that it may be done safely and efficaciously with imaging support by intensivists in an ICU environment. Percutaneous Cannulation for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation by Intensivists: A Retrospective Single-Institution Case Series Conrad, Steven A. MD, […]

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Surviving the Flu in Austin, TX

Surviving the Flu in Austin, TX  Great article out of Austin, TX.  Congratulations to the ECMO team at Seton.  Keep up the good work!

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There is no ‘I’ in Team!

Team Noun – A group of individuals that come together for a cooperative effort, to achieve common goals. A functional family. The ECMO Team is definitely a functional family. It exists for a common purpose: to provide the best possible care for an extremely critically ill patient. The team is usually formed out of a larger […]

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Recirculation During Veno-Venous Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation – A Simulation Study

Speaking of Simulation – it is also useful in the investigation of situations that are not easily defined in patients. Broman M1, Frenckner B, Bjällmark A, Broomé M. Veno-venous ECMO is indicated in reversible life-threatening respiratory failure without life-threatening circulatory failure. Recirculation of oxygenated blood in the ECMO circuit decreases efficiency of patient oxygen delivery […]

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The Value of Simulation

How do you learn best? Lecture? Reading materials? Demonstration? They all have value – but the new kid on the block is Simulation! Ok, maybe not that new – the airline industry has been using it forever! Medical and Nursing schools – simulation started in animal labs and human studies. Now we have mannikins to […]

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Anticoagulation Tests…is the ACT Still the Gold Standard?

For many of the last 25 years of ECMO support in the United States, activated clotting time (ACT) point of care testing has been the primary standard for assisting the ECMO Specialist adjust heparin.  The delicate balance of keeping the system from clotting and keeping the patient from bleeding rested on a very primitive test […]

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RBC Transfusion in Pediatric Patients Supported with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Is There an Impact on Tissue Oxygenation?

Richard T. MD1; Irby, Katherine MD1; Ward, Rebekah M. BS1; Tang, Xinyu PhD1; McKamie, Wes RRT, CCP2; Prodhan, Parthak MD1; Corwin, Howard L. MD3 This article captures a unique aspect to the old question: What is the ‘right’ level to maintain a patient’s hemoglobin? As clinicians, we can be our own worst enemy. This center […]

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Different Ways: The Stopcock Bridge

I happen to be traveling right now with three amazing ECMO Specialists, ECMOlogists in their own right, who are from three very different parts of the country and from three very different ECMO Centers. Visiting another center, meeting another ECMO Specialist or attending an ECMO Conference is an opportunity to learn something new. I often […]

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IMPORTANT! Cardiovasular Perforation During Placement of an Avalon

A Recent publication in the Journal of Cardiac Surgery from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia describes the importance of using echocardiography in placement of the Avalon Elite Bicaval Dual Lumen Cannula in neonates for VV ECMO. The authors share some very important points in their conclusion: “Fluid shifts are frequent after initiation of ECMO and […]

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