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Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
E A Caron1, J L Hamblet Berlandi
1Multidisciplinary Intensive Care Unit, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
The Nursing Clinics of North America
|March 1, 1997
Abstract:
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass used to treat critically ill patients with severe but reversible cardiac and/or respiratory failure. The severity of their symptoms, the rapid deterioration in their conditions, the difficulty in mechanical transportation, and the risks of traveling with an ECMO circuit often prohibit cannulation in an operating room. Cannulation for and decannulation after ECMO therapy can be safely accomplished in the intensive care unit by utilizing experienced perioperative nurses.