RT Book, Section A1 Bastero, Patricia A1 Thomas, James A. A2 Kline, Mark W. SR Print(0) ID 1182926198 T1 Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 23e YR 2018 FD 2018 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781259588594 LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1182926198 RD 2024/03/29 AB Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is used to provide temporary mechanical support for severe cardiac, respiratory, or cardiorespiratory failure that is unresponsive to conventional therapies. While the principles of ECMO and cardiopulmonary bypass are similar in that they both support the cardiorespiratory system, ECMO is a bedside technology in the ICU that is used for much longer periods of support, and ideally should be a less complex and invasive procedure in terms of cannulation and perfusion techniques, durability of equipment, patient monitoring, and troubleshooting. ECMO cannulation is ideally extrathoracic (although for cardiac ECMO, direct cardiac cannulation is often used), and the miniaturized circuitry efficiently pumps blood through the extracorporeal circuit and provides excellent gas exchange through the membrane oxygenator, while minimizing complications of red cell trauma, embolization, clot, and mechanical failure.