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ECMO in newborn infants: The New South Wales experience
Author(s) -
KERR S.,
CRAWFORD M.,
CURRIE B.,
PRACY E.,
STACEY R.,
DUFFY B.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1992.tb02710.x
Subject(s) - medicine , congenital diaphragmatic hernia , extracorporeal membrane oxygenation , meconium aspiration syndrome , respiratory failure , pediatrics , diaphragmatic hernia , cardiorespiratory fitness , meconium , pulmonary hypertension , surgery , hernia , pregnancy , cardiology , fetus , genetics , biology
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used at the Prince of Wales Children's Hospital, Sydney for the treatment of newborn infants with life‐threatening respiratory or cardiac failure since August 1989. The main indications are that the disease is reversible, the surviving infant is likely to be normal and there is an 80% likelihood of death without ECMO. Eighteen of 19 newborn infants have survived at least 2 months after ECMO. The 15 infants receiving ECMO (nine with meconium aspiration, six with persisting pulmonary hypertension) who did not have a congenital diaphragmatic hernia were normal survivors. One death occurred at 5 months of age from chronic lung disease. Three of four infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia were discharged following ECMO and appeared normal at 6,9 and 18 months of age. These results are similar to results from other centres internationally. It appears that ECMO is a useful therapy for near‐term newborn infants with otherwise fatal cardiorespiratory failure.