Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2025

Lung Rapid Recovery Procurement Combined with Abdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion in Controlled Donation after Circulatory Death
Published on: August 15, 2022
Admission Functional Status is Associated With Intensivists Perception of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
Brenna C McCabe1,2, Wynne E Morrison1,3, Ryan W Morgan1
1Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.
Objectives:
To determine the association between admission Functional Status Scale (FSS) category and perceived extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) candidacy for pediatric acute respiratory failure.
Design:
Prospective, cross-sectional study.
Setting:
Single-center, quaternary, and ECMO referral academic children's hospital between March 2021 and January 2022.
Subjects:
Pediatric intensivists directly caring for patients admitted with acute respiratory failure secondary to shock or respiratory disease.
Interventions:
None.
Measurements And Main Results:
Pediatric intensivists were surveyed about current patients within 72 hours of initiation or escalation of invasive mechanical ventilation on whether they would offer ECMO should their patient deteriorate. Baseline functional status was assessed using trichotomized admission FSS: 1) normal/mild dysfunction (6-9), 2) moderate dysfunction (10-15), and 3) severe dysfunction (> 16). Multivariable logistic regression clustered by physician was used to assess the association between admission FSS category with perceived ECMO candidacy. Thirty-seven intensivists participated with 76% (137/180) of survey responses by those with less than 10 years of experience. 81% of patients (146/180) were perceived as ECMO candidates and 19% of patients (34/180) were noncandidates. Noncandidates had worse admission FSS scores than candidates (15.5 vs. 9, p < 0.001). After adjustment for age, admission FSS category of severe dysfunction had lower odds of perceived ECMO candidacy compared with normal to mild dysfunction (odds ratio [OR] 0.18 [95% CI, 0.06-0.56], p < 0.003). Patients with an abnormal communication subscore domain had the lowest odds of being considered a candidate (unadjusted OR 0.44 [95% CI, 0.29-0.68], p < 0.0001).
Conclusions:
In this prospective, single-center, cross-sectional study, admission FSS category indicating worse baseline functional status impacted pediatric intensivists' perceptions of ECMO candidacy for patients with acute respiratory failure. Abnormal FSS subscores in the neurocognitive domains were the most important considerations. Future studies should better seek to define the decision-making priorities of both parents and medical specialists for the utilization of ECMO in children with acute respiratory failure.
Related Concept Videos
Acute Respiratory Failure-IV
Acute Respiratory Failure-V
Ensure that patients are monitored continuously for their response to therapy, including changes in...
Acute Respiratory Failure-III
Acute Respiratory Failure-II
The underlying physiological abnormalities that contribute to hypoxemic respiratory failure include:
Acute Respiratory Failure-I
Definition: It is defined by specific criteria based on blood gas measurements. Hypoxemia happens when the partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) falls below 60 mmHg. At the same time,...
Respiratory Assessment: Purpose and Indications
Objectives and Importance:
The primary goal of respiratory assessment is to evaluate patients at early risk of clinical deterioration. Since respiratory distress often precedes other signs of declining health, breathing patterns and sounds become a...

