Minerva anestesiologica
-
Minerva anestesiologica · Nov 2015
Multicenter StudyInternational survey on the management of mechanical ventilation during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in adults with severe respiratory failure.
No consensus exists on the optimal settings of mechanical ventilation during veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Our aim was to describe how mechanical ventilation and related interventions are managed by adult ECMO centres. ⋯ We found large variability in ventilatory practices during ECMO. The clinicians' training background and the centres' experience had no influence on the approach to ventilation. This survey shows that well conducted studies are necessary to determine the best practice of mechanical ventilation during ECMO and its impact on patient outcome.