Mobile ECMO - A Divine Technology or Bridge to Nowhere?

Mobile ECMO - A Divine Technology or Bridge to Nowhere? Expert Rev Med Devices. 2017 Sep 07;: Authors: Merkle J, Djorjevic I, Sabashnikov A, Kuhn EW, Deppe AC, Eghbalzadeh K, Fattulayev J, Hohmann C, Zeriouh M, Kuhn-Régnier F, Choi YH, Mader N, Wahlers T Abstract INTRODUCTION: Extracorporeal life support emerged as a salvage option in patients with therapy-refractory severe hemodynamic or respiratory failure. However, this promising therapy option has been limited by the use of experienced teams in highly specialized tertiary-care centers. Thus, in order to provide this standard of care in local hospitals and due to increasing evidence on improved outcomes using ECMO devices and setting for patients with heart and lung failure, an increasing number of experienced ECMO centers have launched mobile ECMO retrieval services in recent years. Areas covered: This review provides a summary on the current scientific status concerning use, indications and complications of mobile ECMO devices and services. A scientific literature research was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane and Web of Science databases using keywords denoted. Expert commentary: Mobile ECMO devices and setting offer severely ill patients refractory to maximal conventional treatment an option of hemodynamic and/or respiratory stabilization and subsequent transportation to specialized care centers for further treatment. Compared to in-hospital ECMO support, out-of-hospital...
Source: Expert Review of Medical Devices - Category: Medical Devices Tags: Expert Rev Med Devices Source Type: research