Role of echocardiography in ECMO

Abstract

Introduction: Echocardiography (ECHO) plays a fundamental role in the management of patients supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). 1 It is particularly useful for the detection of cardiac complications that may arise during ECMO. It helps in many ways during the ECMO run, as presented in Table 1. Table 1Indications for ECMO therapy. 3 ECMO is a rescue therapy used to provide cardiac and/or respiratory support for critically ill patients in whom maximal conventional medical management has failed VV ECMO provides adequate oxygenation and carbon dioxide removal in isolated refractory respiratory failure VA ECMO is used when support is required for cardiac and/or respiratory failure. ECHO helps to identify or exclude new reversible pathology, which could be the actual cause of patient hemodynamic deterioration (cardiac tamponade/undiagnosed valvular lesions and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction), thus avoiding the need for ECMO support. It also helps to provide information about contraind...