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Updated: May 28, 2026
Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Peripheral Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Without Left Ventricular Venting
Published on: January 17, 2025
Point-of-Care Ultrasound Detects Rapid Muscle Loss in Pediatric ECMO Patients-A Secondary Analysis Paper
Mohammad Sabobeh1,2,3, Elizabeth Seewer1, William Hunt Stafford1
1Department of Pediatrics, Critical Care Medicine, The University of Tennessee Health and Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
Background:
Critically ill children requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support are at high risk of immobility, deconditioning, and muscle loss. There is a lack of screening and diagnostic tools to quantify muscle loss in this population.
Objective:
This study aims to evaluate the use of bedside ultrasound as a practical and effective method for detecting muscle loss in this high-risk group.
Materials And Methods:
This is a secondary analysis of a prospective observational clinical study conducted between January 2024 and January 2025 that used ultrasound to describe muscle loss in critically ill children aged 2 to 18 years.
Results:
The primary study enrolled 35 patients, five of whom required ECMO support. All patients who required ECMO showed significant muscle loss (>10%) in the quadriceps femoris, as measured by muscle thickness and cross-sectional area, compared with baseline measurements obtained before ECMO cannulation.
Conclusions:
Point-of-care muscle ultrasound could be a reliable, cost-effective tool for assessing muscle loss in pediatric patients on ECMO.
