Contemporary extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy in adults: Fundamental principles and systematic review of the evidence

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) provides days to weeks of support for patients with respiratory, cardiac, or combined cardiopulmonary failure. Since ECMO was first reported in 1974, nearly 70,000 runs of ECMO have been implemented, and the use of ECMO in adults increased by more than 400% from 2006 to 2011 in the United States. A variety of factors, including the 2009 influenza A epidemic, results from recent clinical trials, and improvements in ECMO technology, have motivated this increased use in adults. Because ECMO is increasingly becoming available to a diverse population of critically ill patients, we provide an overview of its fundamental principles and a systematic review of the evidence basis of this treatment modality for a variety of indications in adults.