Insensible water loss through adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuit: an in vitro study

Patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are critically ill, and fluid balance need to be managed as accurately as possible. Previous studies have focused on insensible water loss through neonatal ECMO circuit and showed that water loss through the ECMO circuit was correlated with the sweep-gas flow rates. Current study is the first study focusing on insensible water loss through adult ECMO circuit. An in vitro extracorporeal circuit consisting of Jostra Quadrox D membrane oxygenator and centrifugal pump was primed with normal saline. The amount of water loss through the ECMO circuit was found to be linearly correlated with the sweep-gas flow rate and fluid temperature. For every liter per minute of sweep-gas flow at 37°C, 0.046 ml/min of water will be lost, and for every change of fluid temperature by 1°C, water content loss will be changed by 0.0026 ml/min by multiple linear regression (R = 0.996). The average daily water loss for every liter per minute of sweep-gas flow at 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, and 39°C were 51.3, 55, 58.8, 62.5, 66.2, 70.0, and 73.7 ml/day, respectively.