Extracorporeal life support: utilization, cost, controversy, and ethics of trying to save lives.
Since the first successful application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in 1972, ECMO's role in the management of respiratory and circulatory collapse continues to be refined and debated. Randomized clinical trials aimed at establishing efficacy and patient selection criteria have been fraught with ethical challenges. Growing concerns over rising health care costs require that careful evaluations of cost, utilization, and ethical issues surrounding heroic life-saving interventions such as ECMO are undertaken. Continued analyses of ECMO's place in the medical management of respiratory and circulatory failure will help ensure that ECMO is used for not only prolonging life but also for providing a chance for "quality of life" following recovery from near-fatal illnesses.
Crow
Sheri
S
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA. crow.sheri@mayo.edu
Fischer
Anne C
AC
Schears
Raquel M
RM
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D015199:Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement; D018579:Patient Selection; D011788:Quality of Life; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000941:ethics; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*