Use of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Adult Patients During Cardiac Arrest

Abstract

Extracorporeal circulation membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used in care situations for decades and was initially incorporated into cardiac surgery in 1954. 1 Subsequently, in certain contexts, such as during the outbreak of influenza A in 2009 and coronavirus disease in 2019, ECMO gained greater visibility due to its use in cases of more severe clinical conditions that were refractory to established conventional therapy.ECMO is a mechanical circulatory device used for temporary support. Its installation is based on the joint decision of a trained medical team. This method has two basic modalities: venovenous, indicated in cases of pulmonary involvement, such as severe respiratory failure; and venoarterial for cardiac cases, such as cardiogenic shock, cardiac arrest (CA), among others. Both modalities can also be used concomitantly. 2 Therefore, the selection of one of the access routes for cannulation depends on the support provided: pulmonary and/or cardiac.ECMO integrated into the treatment of CA is described as extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR),