• K Rais Bahrami and Krisa P Van Meurs.
• The George Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Neonatology, Children's National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20010, USA. KRAISBAH@cnmc.org
• Semin. Perinatol. 2005 Feb 1;29(1):15-23.

AbstractExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been offered as a life-saving technology to newborns with respiratory and cardiac failure refractory to maximal medical therapy. ECMO has been used in treatment of neonates with a variety of cardio-respiratory problems, including meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS), persistent pulmonary hypertension of the neonate (PPHN), congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), sepsis/pneumonia, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), air leak syndrome, and cardiac anomalies. For this group of high-risk neonates with an anticipated mortality rate of 80% to 85%, ECMO has an overall survival rate of 84%, with recent data showing nearly 100% survival in many diagnostic groups. This article reviews the current selection criteria for ECMO and the clinical management of neonates on ECMO, and discusses the long-term outcome of neonates treated with ECMO.

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