title: Advances in extracorporeal ventilation.
abstract: Mechanical ventilation remains the signature tool of critical care; however, within the past decade, a growing body of evidence suggests that positive pressure ventilation in acute respiratory failure is a double-edged sword that is associated with life-threatening complications such as nosocomial pneumonia and low cardiac performance. Essentially, solutions are required to provide adequate gas exchange and stable acid-base status while optimizing and maximizing pulmonary as well as remote organ protection. Recently, the first commercially available extracorporeal membrane ventilator was approved for clinical lung support, the Interventional Lung Assist. This article gives an overview of the potential indications for this device and the current clinical evidence in extracorporeal ventilation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Thoracic Surgery and Lung Support, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplant and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Strasse 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Strüber
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fischer
mesh_terms: D015199:Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology