Objectives: To assess the safety of enteral nutrition (EN) in children on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). To describe nutritional status and the characteristics of the nutritional support in this population. Methods: A retrospective single-center analysis (2006–2016) including children <18 years on ECMO. Demographic data, nutritional status, characteristics of nutritional support, and development of gastrointestinal (GI) complications were recorded. Results: One hundred children, with a median age of 9.7 months (interquartile range [IQR] 3.9–63.1) were enrolled. Undernutrition was prevalent among children on ECMO (33.3%) mainly in patients <2 years ( P = 0.042). Most patients (64%) received EN at some point during ECMO therapy. EN was administered in the first 48 hours after ECMO initiation (48HEN) to 60.3% of the children. Mortality rate in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit was lower in patients who received EN as the initial artificial nutrition support (ANS) (37.7 vs 51%, P = 0.005) and in children on 48HEN (34% vs 50%, P = 0.04). In the logistic regression analysis, duration of ECMO support and low cardiac output indication were the only factors associated with mortality. Although most patients on ECMO (45%) developed digestive complications, they were mostly mild, being constipation the most prevalent. In the logistic regression analysis, EN was not associated with an increase in GI complications ( P = 0.09). Only three patients developed intestinal ischemia (one without EN and two on EN). Conclusions: Undernutrition is prevalent among children on ECMO, mainly in infants <2 years. EN is not associated with severe gastrointestinal complications or higher mortality in these children.

Aims To assess the impact of two different respiratory rates in hemodynamic, perfusion and ventilation parameters in a pediatric animal model of cardiac arrest (CA). Methods An experimental randomized controlled trial was carried out in 50 piglets under asphyxial CA. After ROSC, they were randomized into two groups: 20 and 30 respirations per minute (rpm). Hemodynamic, perfusion and ventilation parameters were measured 10 minutes after asphyxia, just before ROSC and at 5, 15, 30 and 60 minutes after ROSC. Independent medians test, Kruskal-Wallis test and χ2 test, were used to compare continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Spearman's Rho was used to assess correlation between continuous variables. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results Arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) was significantly lower in the 30 rpm group after 15 minutes (41 vs. 54.5 mmHg, p <0.01), 30 minutes (39.5 vs. 51 mmHg, p < 0.01) and 60 minutes (36.5 vs. 48 mmHg, p = 0.02) of ROSC. The percentage of normoventilated subjects (PaCO2 30-50 mmHg) was significantly higher in the 30 rpm group throughout the experiment. pH normalization occurred faster in the 30 rpm group with significant differences at 60 minutes (7.40 vs. 7.34, p = 0.02). Lactic acid levels were high immediately after ROSC in both groups, but were significantly lower in the 20 rpm group at 30 (3.7 vs. 4.7 p = 0.04) and 60 minutes (2.6 vs. 3.6 p = 0.03). Conclusions This animal model of asphyxial CA shows that a respiratory rate of 30 rpm is more effective to reach normoventilation than 20 rpm in piglets after ROSC. This ventilation strategy seems to be safe, as it does not cause hyperventilation and does not affect hemodynamics or cerebral tissue perfusion.