No set rules: Variations in decision-making for venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation candidacy

The past decade has seen over a 10-fold increase in the annual number of adult patients placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for acute respiratory failure worldwide. As the capacity to provide this powerful technology has increased, so has discussion regarding which patients are most likely to benefit and what criteria should be applied for candidacy determinations. Guidelines based on expert consensus are available to assist with candidacy decision-making, but how those guidelines are applied to individual determinations is unknown and likely varies tremendously.

Catherine L Auriemma, Jacob Gutsche