The International journal of artificial organs
-
Comparative Study
Quantifying recirculation in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: a new technique validated.
The efficacy of veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is limited by the phenomenon of recirculation, which is difficult to quantify. Existing measurement techniques using readily available equipment are unsatisfactory. ⋯ 1) Measurement of recirculation using oxygen content is superior to that using oxygen saturation alone, which demonstrates significant measurement bias; 2) the novel step-change technique is a sufficiently accurate technique for the measurement of recirculation in animal models.