Extracorporeal Organ Support

Abstract

Mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, and artificial liver detoxification circuits are among the systems designed to support or replace organs compromised by trauma, sepsis, or acute respiratory, kidney, or liver failure. Among these systems, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has recently generated increasing expectations despite results from early clinical trials in adults that suggested ECMO use should be restricted to only those patients determined by specialized clinicians to have a very high risk of mortality.