Extracorporeal assist systems for respiratory and circulatory failure are increasingly used in intensive care medicine. Important technical innovations over the past years have resulted in improved biocompatibility and, consequently, reduced complication rates. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) technology experienced a surge of use during the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, but transport ...

We read with great interest the recent article by Miller and colleagues (April 2010) 1 reporting their experience with 47 patients who were admitted to the ICU with 2009 infl uenza A(H1N1) [A(H1N1)] virus infection in Utah. The authors stated that the severity of illness and mortality (27%) in their cohort who received usual care for ARDS (ie, low tidal volume, low pressure ventilation) was sim...

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for severe acute respiratory failure was proposed more than 40 years ago. Despite the publication of the ARDSNet study and adoption of lung protective ventilation, the mortality for acute respiratory failure due to acute respiratory distress syndrome has continued to remain high. This technology has evolved over the past couple of decades and has been ...

Rapidly progressive acute respiratory failure attributed to 2009 H1N1 influenza A infection has been reported worldwide-3. Refractory hypoxaemia despite conventional mechanical ventilation and lung protective strategies has resulted in the use a combination of rescue therapies, such as conservative fluid management, prone positioning, inhaled nitric oxide, high frequency oscillatory ventilation...

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a complex technique for providing life support in neonatal respiratory failure. T UK Collaborative ECMO trial demonstrated cost-effectiveness and substantial improvements in neurological morbidity and mortality. Currently, infants requiring ECMO in Ireland are referred to one of various centres in the UK and Scandinavia. We aimed to review the numbe...