Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Is a Team Sport: Institutional Survival Benefits of a Formalized ECMO Team

Clinical and Administrative Steps to the ECMO Program Development

“…Using the tools provided by others in the literature, a strong triad leadership process, and a dedicated multidisciplinary team with strong project management support, it is possible to accomplish program initiation in a six-month period in a hospital with an established CV Surgical program. We believe this process is replicable, and provides tools and implementation models that can be used by other hospitals to add needed ECMO support to meet their community needs [8][9][10].…”

“…In fact, excluding the survival benefit that has been demonstrated in patients who are supported with ECMO, there is also growing evidence to suggest that overall outcomes of patients with Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) or cardiogenic shock treated at "ECMO Program Centers" are better regardless of whether they are treated with ECMO. In other words, the multi-disciplinary and administrative commitment to take care of patients (both adults and children) with complex and difficult cardiac and pulmonary problems can lead to improved outcomes independent of the actual use of ECMO [7][8][9][10].…”

Critical Care During the Coronavirus Crisis: Challenges and Considerations for the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia Community

“…[3][4][5][6][7] The novelty of this infection, its infectious potential, and its clinical consequences have generated a surge in demand for critical care services that include unique considerations for echocardiography and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, both in adult and pediatric practice. [5][6][7][8][9] The purpose of this freestanding editorial is to highlight the challenges and considerations in the critical care response to COVID-19. The suggested strategies have outlined options for designing best practices to navigate the coronavirus crisis successfully.…”

The Role of Cardiothoracic- and Intensive Care-Trained Anesthesiologists in Perioperative Resuscitation and Cardiac Arrest

“…[5][6][7] It is noteworthy that extracorporeal membrane oxygenation teams commonly have cardiac or critical care anesthesiologists as core team members, putting them in a unique position to assist in early activation of this potentially life-saving therapy. 8 In addition, the previously established collaboration of cardiothoracic and critical care anesthesiologists with interventional cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons, can facilitate the rapid deployment of advanced rescue therapies such as mechanical circulatory support and cardiac catheterization, potentially decreasing low-flow time and reducing end-organ dysfunction.…”