Menaker J, et al. - Authors performed this work to report the outcome of adult patients admitted in 2015 to the lung rescue unit, which, to their knowledge, was the first intensive care unit in the United States that has been specifically created to provide care for patients requiring venovenous extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO). They identified increasing use of VV ECMO for acute respiratory failure (ARF)/acute respiratory (ARDS). A dedicated multidisciplinary intensive care unit for the purpose of providing standardized care with specialized trained providers could enhance survival to discharge for patients that require VV ECMO for ARF/ARDS.

Methods

• Authors obtained data of all patients admitted to the lung rescue unit on VV ECMO between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2015.
• Documentation of demographics, medical history, pre-ECMO data, indication for VV ECMO as well as duration of ECMO and survival to decannulation and discharge was performed.
• When appropriate, they reported means (± standard deviation) and medians (interquartile range [IQR]).

Results

• This study enrolled 49 patients; median age was 48 years (IQR, 32–57).
• Authors noticed that median PaO₂/FIO₂ ratio before cannulation was 66 (IQR, 53–86).
• Before cannulation, patients were ventilated for a median period of 2 days(IQR, 1–4).
• In this study, median time on VV ECMO for all patients was 311 hours (IQR, 203–461).
• Successful decannulation was observed in 38 (78%) patients with 35 (71%) patients surviving to hospital discharge.