title: Extracorporeal life support - state of the art.
abstract: Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) has become an accepted therapeutic measure in the treatment of infants, children and adults with reversible respiratory or cardiac failure. The principle behind ECLS involves obtaining access to drain blood from the venous circulation into the extracorporeal circuit where it is oxygenated and cleansed of carbon dioxide before being returned to the circulation. The UK Collaborative ECMO Trial showed that an ECLS policy was clinically effective in terms of improved survival without a rise in severe disability at age 1 year. Long-term follow-up has confirmed these benefits. The value of ECLS in paediatric and, more recently, adult respiratory failure is becoming clearer. ECLS has a vital role to play in the support of paediatric cardiac surgery programmes. Recent advances include newer oxygenators, greater use of less invasive veno-venous support and the use of ECLS to support novel therapies used to treat severe congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Surgery, The Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill, Glasgow, G3 8SJ, UK.
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Morag
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liddell
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass; D002648:Child; D015199:Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation / Q000379:methods; D006548:Hernia, Diaphragmatic / Q000628:therapy; D065630:Hernias, Diaphragmatic, Congenital; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008471:Meconium Aspiration Syndrome / Q000628:therapy