Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support for cardiac failure has been used in children since 1981 at the Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. Most children required support after cardiac operations. Recently, however, a larger number of patients with decompensated cardiomyopathy or myocarditis have been supported with ECMO, which was used as a bridge to transplantation in most.
Methods: From 1981 to 1994, 68 children were placed on ECMO for cardiac support.
Results: The overall survival for the entire time period was 38%, with the more recent experience survival increased to 47%. In 14 children, ECMO was used as a bridge to transplantation, with 9 children receiving a heart transplant and 7 long-term survivors. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation has also been used to resuscitate 11 children after sudden cardiac arrest, with a long-term survival of 53%.
Conclusions: We conclude that ECMO support for severe cardiac failure is effective. Patient selection and the use of heart transplantation for intractable heart failure have improved the overall survival.