Surveying the status of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation application in Chinese pediatric intensive care unit

Objective To investigate the application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(ECMO) in pediatric intensive care unit(PICU) in China. Methods Data were collected by questionnaire in PICU of tertiary hospitals, which included children′s hospitals and the pediatric sections of general hospitals from 26 provinces/municipalities/autonomous regions in China from March to August 2015. Results Total 38 hospitals were enrolled, including 28 children hospitals and 10 general hospitals.Six PICU carried out ECMO technology.Fourteen PICU prepared to perform this technology.Nine had ECMO team, and 8 had received ECMO training.Ten PICU had a total of 12 ECMO machines.Sixty-three patients were supported with non-open chest ECMO, 49(77.8%) of which were decannulated from ECMO successfully, and 36(57.1%) survived.Twelve neonates were enrolled, including 10 patients with respiratory failure and 2 with cardiac failure, 5 of them survived to discharge.Of 51 pediatric patients received ECMO, 28 were supported for cardiac failure, 21 for respiratory failure, and 2 for extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, 31 cases(60.8%) survived to discharge. Conclusion ECMO technology is still at the initial stage.More efforts are needed to improve the relative equipment, ECMO team and ECMO training in China. Key words: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; Pediatric intensive care unit; Questionnaire,