[Is extracorporeal membrane oxygenation necessary?]

In order to evaluate our hospital center needs for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a retrospective study was carried out over a two-year-period to determine the mortality rates of infants < or = 35 weeks of gestation and > or = 2000 grams with severe respiratory failure. The data was obtained from a perinatal center that serves a population that has 50,000 newborn deliveries per year. During the period of the study there were 75 infants meeting the above criteria admitted to the NICU with severe respiratory failure (defined as need for mechanical ventilation and 100% O2). Forty-four patients were excluded because of improvement of their respiratory status on conventional therapy, and 16 were ineligible for ECMO because of their primary diagnosis. Of the 15 infants considered ECMO candidates, there were 2 deaths as a result of streptococcal beta hemolytic septicemia. The result of this study showed that few infants in the population served by this perinatal center would have benefited from ECMO.