CARDIAC-ARREST IN THE ECMO CANDIDATE

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) improves survival in appropriately selected full-term neonates with severe respiratory fallure. The clinical course and outcome of infants placed on ECMO after sustaining a cardiac arrest is not known. This study reviews the characteristics and outcome of 10 neonates, identified by retrospective review, placed on ECMO at Children's Hospital Medical Center (CHMC), Cincinnati, OH, after sustaining a cardiac arrest. Long-term survival in this group was 60%, significantly less than the 87% overall ECMO survival in infants at CHMC (P < .01). Survivors and nonsurvivors in the cardiac arrest group were similar with regard to gestational age, birth weight, Apgar scores, and arterial PO2 prior to cannulation. Nonsurvivors had an ECMO course complicated by progressive multisystem organ failure. Head computed tomography obtained at the time of discharge demonstrated right-sided brain lesions in three of six survivors. Despite these radiographic findings, early clinical follow-up suggests adequate growth and development with no individuals demonstrating a severe neurological deficit. Thus, ECMO can play a role in the resuscitation of neonatal ECMO candidates sustaining cardiac arrest prior to or at the time of cannulation. Early clinical follow-up suggests adequate preservation of neurological function in this extremely high-risk group. © 1991.