These guidelines are applicable to neonates and children with cardiac failure as indication for extracorporeal life support. These guidelines address patient selection, management during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and pathways for weaning support or bridging to other therapies. Equally important issues, such as personnel, training, credentialing, resources, follow-up, reporting, and quality assurance, are addressed in other Extracorporeal Life Support Organization documents or are center-specific.

BACKGROUND: Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is used when mechanical ventilation can no longer support oxygenation or ventilation, or if the risk of ventilator-induced lung injury is considered excessive. The optimum mechanical ventilation strategy once on ECMO is unknown. We sought to describe the practice of mechanical ventilation in children on VV-ECMO and to determine whether mechanical ventilation practices are associated with clinical outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study in 10 pediatric academic centers in the United States. Children age 14 d through 18 y on VV-ECMO from 2011 to 2016 were included. Exclusion criteria were preexisting chronic respiratory failure, primary diagnosis of asthma, cyanotic heart disease, or ECMO as a bridge to lung transplant. RESULTS: Conventional mechanical ventilation was used in about 75% of children on VV-ECMO; the remaining subjects were managed with a variety of approaches. With the exception of PEEP, there was large variation in ventilator settings. Ventilator mode and pressure settings were not associated with survival. Mean ventilator F IO 2 on days 1-3 was higher in nonsurvivors than in survivors (0.5 vs 0.4, P 5 .009). In univariate analysis, other risk factors for mortality were female gender, higher Pediatric Risk Estimate Score for Children Using Extracorporeal Respiratory Support (Ped-RESCUERS), diagnosis of cancer or stem cell transplant, and number of days intubated prior to initiation of ECMO (all P < .05). In multivariate analysis, ventilator F IO 2 was significantly associated with mortality (odds ratio 1.38 for each 0.1 increase in F IO 2 , 95% CI 1.09-1.75). Mortality was higher in subjects on high ventilator F IO 2 (6 0.5) compared to low ventilator F IO 2 (> 0.5) (46% vs 22%, P 5 .001). CONCLUSIONS: Ventilator mode and some settings vary in practice. The only ventilator setting associated with mortality was F IO 2 , even after adjustment for disease severity. Ventilator F IO 2 is a modifiable setting that may contribute to mortality in children on VV-ECMO.

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ObjectiveTo describe the utility of high frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) as a rescue therapy in patients with respiratory failure secondary to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that was refractory to conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV).DesignDescriptive study by retrospective review.SettingPediatric intensive care unit at a tertiary care children’s hospital.PatientsInfants on mechanical ventilation for respiratory failure due to RSV.InterventionsUse of HFJV.Main ResultsEleven patients were placed on HFJV. There was sustained improvement in ventilation on HFJV with a mean decrease in PCO2 of 9 mmHg at 24 h and 11 mmHg at 72 h. There were no significant changes in oxygenation by oxygenation index. No patients required extracorporeal support or suffered pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, or subcutaneous emphysema. Ten out of 11 (91%) patients survived to discharge from the hospital.ConclusionHigh frequency jet ventilation may represent an alternative therapy for RSV-induced respiratory failure that is refractory to CMV.