Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026
Lung Rapid Recovery Procurement Combined with Abdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion in Controlled Donation after Circulatory Death
Published on: August 15, 2022
The long-term outcome of children managed with extracorporeal life support: an institutional experience
Anna K Taylor1, Rachel Cousins, Warwick W Butt
1Intensive Care Unit, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Insights
Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) offers long-term survival for a third of pediatric patients, with most survivors achieving independence. This study assessed outcomes and causes of death in children receiving ECLS.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric critical care medicine
- Cardiopulmonary support technologies
- Neonatal and pediatric intensive care
Background:
- Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is a complex intervention for critically ill infants and children.
- Long-term outcomes and quality of life following ECLS are not fully understood.
- Understanding mortality patterns is crucial for improving ECLS care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the long-term functional status and quality of life in pediatric ECLS survivors.
- To determine the timing and causes of mortality in children who received ECLS.
- To assess the overall impact of ECLS on pediatric patient outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Prospective, long-term follow-up study of pediatric patients who received ECLS.
- Data collected from a 16-bed pediatric intensive care unit at a university teaching hospital.
- Review of medical records and parental/guardian interviews for functional status and quality of life assessment.
Main Results:
- Follow-up data obtained for 211 of 224 ECLS patients at a median of 7.2 years post-ICU admission.
- Sixty-nine children (32.7%) survived to follow-up, with 96% expected to lead independent lives.
- Of 142 deaths, most occurred in the ICU, primarily due to withdrawal of therapy (74) or disease-related complications (30).
Conclusions:
- Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is a viable, albeit complex, therapy for Australian children, with approximately one-third achieving long-term survival.
- The majority of pediatric ECLS survivors experience favorable functional outcomes and quality of life.
- Mortality patterns highlight the importance of careful patient selection and prognostication in ECLS management.
Objective:
To evaluate the long-term functional status and quality of life of infants and children who have received extracorporeal life support (ECLS), and to determine how and when death occurred.
Design:
Long-term, prospective follow-up study.
Setting:
16-bed paediatric intensive care unit in a university teaching hospital.
Participants:
All children who received ECLS in the period April 1988 to October 2000 in the paediatric ICU at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.
Methods:
The records of all 224 children who had received ECLS were reviewed, and functional status and quality of life were assessed through interview with each child's parent or guardian for those who had survived.
Results:
Follow-up information was available for 211 children at a median of 7.2 years (range, 3.9 months to 12.6 years) after admission to the paediatric ICU. Sixty-nine children were alive at follow-up, 96% of whom were likely to lead an independent existence. Of the 142 deaths, 123 occurred in the paediatric ICU: 74 were due to elective withdrawal of therapy for poor prognosis, and eight for brain death; 30 were disease-related; seven were ECLSrelated; and four were due to sepsis.
Conclusions:
ECLS is a complex therapy which has been used in Australian children for 18 years; a third of children survived long term, and 96% of these had a favourable outcome.
Related Concept Videos
01:19Restorative Care
01:28Kidney Transplant I: Introduction
01:26Extracorporeal Removal of Drugs: Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy
01:25Extracorporeal Removal of Drugs: Hemoperfusion and Hemofiltration
01:30Extracorporeal Removal of Drugs: Peritoneal Dialysis and Hemodialysis