extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Remaining vigilant for the child with a subtle presentation of a severe illness is part of our job in the Ped ED; however, sometimes, the illness is not subtle and the child requires critical actions (ex, Damage Control Resuscitation, Mechanical Ventilation, Optimize Chest Compressions) . Often, it is best to consider these critical actions prior to needing to do them so there is no delay. One such, potentially life-saving, critical action is Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). Recently there was a nice review of Pediatric ECMO [Gehrmann, 2015] that deserves further contemplation. Below are some highlights from that article: