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Background: Liberation from sedation may be beneficial for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome supported by veno-venous (VV) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Currently, there is limited evidence to support this approach. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the 90-day patient mortality of different sedation strategies in COVID-19 patients supported with VV ECMO., Methods: Retrospective, observational sub-study of the COVID-19 Critical Care Consortium database including COVID-19 patients supported with VV ECMO. Two cohorts were compared: high sedation patients who received neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) throughout ECMO and low sedation patients who did not receive NMBA consistently. Patients' level of sedation during ECMO was also considered. The primary outcome was 90-day in-hospital mortality and was assessed using cause-specific Cox proportional hazard models., Results: 224 low and 104 high sedation patients were included. Pre-ECMO respiratory condition prior was similar between groups, except for the ratio of partial pressure of oxygen to inspired fraction of oxygen, which was lower in the high sedation group at 93 [61-130] than the low sedation group at 106 [69-140]. No difference was observed in disease severity scores between cohorts. Low sedation patients had longer ECMO runs, more circuit changes, but lower infectious and hemorrhagic complications. Higher sedation was associated with a hazard ratio for death of 3.23 (95% CI 2.16-4.83) compared to low sedation., Conclusions: Reduced sedation in COVID-19 ECMO patients is feasible and may be associated with improved survival and reduced complications compared to continuous paralysis, albeit with longer ECMO runs., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Competing Interests: Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD); she received funding from the DoD Clinical Trial Award for Trial of Indication-based Transfusion of RBCs in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (TITRE) trial; and she disclosed that she is President-Elect of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) and immediate past-President of Pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, the research collaborative between the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators and ELSO. Dr. Muszynski has disclosed that she does not have any potential conflicts of interest.

Adverse events (AEs) experienced by children and adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) on ventricular assist devices (VADs) are sometimes unique to these populations. The Advanced Cardiac Therapies Improving Outcomes Network (ACTION) and the Academic Research Consortium (ARC) aimed to harmonize definitions of pediatric and CHD AEs for use in clinical trials, registries, and regulatory evaluation. Data from the ACTION registry and adjudication committee were used to adapt general mechanical circulatory support ARC definitions. This ACTION-ARC international expert panel of trialists, clinicians, patients, families, statisticians, biomedical engineers, device developers, and regulatory agencies drafted and iterated definitions harmonized to ACTION data and existing literature during sessions conducted between December 2022 and May 2023, followed by dissemination across clinical/research audiences and professional organizations and further revision. Both email-linked, internet-based surveys and in-person discussions were used as a modified Delphi process. Nineteen AE types were identified and defined, including seven new event types and six event types that were deleted and will no longer be collected, achieving consensus. ACTION-ARC paired rigorous development with methodical stakeholder involvement and dissemination to define pediatric VAD AEs to facilitate assimilation of data across future clinical trials and evaluation of devices for VAD-supported children and adults with CHD., Competing Interests: Disclosure: A.L. is a consultant for Bayer, Abbott, Abiomed, Berlin Heart, and Syncardia and is the primary investigator for the Berlin ACTIVE driver trial. I.A. is a consultant for Abbott, Abiomed, Bivacor, and Berlin Heart. P.M.A.A. is Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) and immediate past-chair of PediECMO, a research collaborative between ELSO and the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators. P. Alexander’s institution received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NICHD R13HD104432) and the U.S. Department of Defense (U.S. DoD PRMRP Clinical Trial Award #W81XWH2210301). R.P.B. reports grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 HL153519 and is a member of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) Board of Directors. S.B. is a full-time employee of Abiomed, Inc. a part of Johnson and Johnson. K.B. is an Abbott employee. J.C. receives an unrestricted education grant—from Abbott and is a medical monitor for Pumpkin Trial. R.R.D. is a paid consultant for Abbott, Inc. and Abiomed, Inc. R.L.K. is an employee at Abbott, Inc. R.K. is an employee at Berlin Heart Inc. M.K. is involved in Grants & Consulting for Medtronic, Abbott Vascular, Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific, and Getinge. J.L. is a consultant for Abbott. D.L.S.M. is a consultant for Abbott Inc., Syncardia Inc., and Berlin Heart Inc. R.A.N. uses Berlin Heart of North America travel funds to attend the annual user’s group meeting. F.D.P. is a non-compensated ad-hoc scientific advisor for Abbott, BrioHealth Solutions, FineHeart, and Medtronic, a non-compensated medical monitor for Abiomed, a member—Data Safety Monitoring Board for Carmat, receives grant funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and receives partial salary support from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan as Associate Director of the Michigan Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons Quality Collaborative. D.M.P. is on the Data Safety Monitoring Board for the Berlin Active Driver Trial. D.R. is associated with ACTION, DSMB for Parexel (unrelated to topic of AE manuscript), and Medicolegal consultation (unrelated to topic of AE manuscript). J.W.R. is a consultant for American Regent, AskBio, BioMarin, Bayer, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Enzyvant. E.S. reports institutional contracts for which he receives no direct compensation with Boston Scientific, Cardiawave, Edwards Lifesciences, Medtronic, Shanghai Microport Medical Co. Ltd., NVT GmBH, Pie Medical Imaging, Siemens Healthcare GmBH. M.E.S. is involved in a Medtronic educational contract, Octapharma advisory panel, and NIH DSMB for PumpKIN trial (completed). J.M.T. is a Berlin Heart CEC member. C.V. is on the Merck scientific advisory committee and a consultant for Abiomed. C.R.V. is a consultant for PTC therapeutics (previous), Antisense (current), and Capricor (current). The other authors have no conflicts of interest to report., (Copyright © ASAIO 2024.)

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a high-risk and low-volume life support with increasing clinical study. However, heterogenous outcome definitions impede data assimilation into evidence to guide practice. The Academic Research Consortium (ARC), an international collaborative forum committed to facilitating the creation of stakeholder-driven consensus nomenclature and outcomes for clinical trials of medical devices, supported the ECMO Core Elements Needed for Trials Regulation And quality of Life (ECMO-CENTRAL) ARC. The ECMO-CENTRAL ARC was assembled to develop definitions of paediatric ECMO adverse events for use in clinical trials and regulatory device evaluation. An initial candidate list of ECMO adverse events derived from the mechanical circulatory support ARC was supplemented with a review of ECMO-relevant adverse event definitions collated from literature published between Jan 1, 1988, and Feb 20, 2023. Distinct teams of international topic experts drafted separate adverse event definitions that were harmonised to existing literature when appropriate. Draft definitions were revised for paediatric ECMO relevance with input from patients, families, and an international expert panel of trialists, clinicians, statisticians, biomedical engineers, device developers, and regulatory agencies. ECMO-CENTRAL ARC was revised and disseminated across research societies and professional organisations. Up to three rounds of internet-based anonymous surveys were planned as a modified Delphi process. The expert panel defined 13 adverse event definitions: neurological, bleeding, device malfunction, acute kidney injury, haemolysis, infection, vascular access-associated injury, non-CNS thrombosis, hepatic dysfunction, right heart failure, left ventricular overload, lactic acidaemia, and hypoxaemia. Definitional structure varied. Among 165 expert panel members, 114 were eligible to vote and 111 voted. Consensus was achieved for all proposed definitions. Agreement ranged from 82% to 95%. ECMO-CENTRAL ARC paired rigorous development with methodical stakeholder involvement and dissemination to define paediatric ECMO adverse events. These definitions will facilitate new research and the assimilation of data across clinical trials and ECMO device evaluation in children., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests PMAA reports institution funding from the US Department of Defense (PRMRP clinical trial award #W81XWH2210301), National Institutes of Health (NIH R13HD104432), and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA Grant Number U01FD004979/U01FD005978); and is the Treasurer for Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). MDN is a member of the advisory board for Eurosets and a member of the European ELSO Chapter Steering Committee. MVA, NB, and LV are members of the European ELSO Chapter Steering Committee. DB received research support and consulting fees from LivaNova; has been on medical advisory boards for Xenios, Medtronic, Inspira, and Cellenkos; is the President-Elect of ELSO and the Chair of the Executive Committee of the International ECMO Network (ECMONet); and writes for UpToDate. RG-G is a member of the Latin American ELSO Chapter Steering Committee. PMK is a member or the Southwest Asia and Africa ELSO Chapter Steering Committee. GM is President of ELSO. MLP is the Past President of ELSO. AR-P is a consultant for Terumo CVS; and his institution receives funding from the NIH (R01 HL141509 and R01 HL155100). AL is a consultant for Bayer, Abbott, Abiomed, Berlin Heart, and Syncardia; is the primary investigator for the Berlin ACTIVE driver trial; and is an Executive of the ACTION Network. RPB reports a grant from the NIH (R01 HL153519) and is a member of the ELSO Board of Directors and Co-Chair of PediECMO., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.)

Aims: Current data are insufficient for the leading resuscitation societies to advise on the use of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) for pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The aim of this study was to explore the current utilization of ECPR for pediatric OHCA and characterize the patient demographics, arrest features, and metabolic parameters associated with survival., Methods: Retrospective review of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry database from January 2020 to May 2023, including children 28 days to 18 years old who received ECPR for OHCA. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge., Results: Eighty patients met inclusion criteria. Median age was 8.8 years [2.0-15.8] and 53.8% of patients were male. OHCA was witnessed for 65.0% of patients and 46.3% received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Initial rhythm was shockable in 26.3% of patients and total CPR duration was 78 min [52-106]. Signs of life were noted for 31.3% of patients and a cardiac etiology precipitating event was present in 45.0%. Survival to discharge was 29.9%. Initial shockable rhythm was associated with increased odds of survival (unadjusted OR 4.7 [1.5-14.5]; p = 0.006), as were signs of life prior to ECMO (unadjusted OR 7.8 [2.6-23.4]; p < 0.001). Lactate levels early on-ECMO (unadjusted OR 0.89 [0.79-0.99]; p = 0.02) and at 24 h on-ECMO (unadjusted OR 0.62 [0.42-0.91]; p < 0.001) were associated with decreased odds of survival., Conclusions: These preliminary data suggest that while overall survival is poor, a carefully selected pediatric OHCA patient may benefit from ECPR. Further studies are needed to understand long-term neurologic outcomes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: “Ryan P. Barbaro reports a relationship with Extracorporeal Life Support Organization that includes: board membership. Peta M.A. Alexander reports a relationship with Extracorporeal Life Support Organization that includes: board membership. Ryan P. Barbaro reports a relationship with Pedi-ECMO that includes: board membership. Ryan P. Barbaro reports a relationship with National Institutes of Health that includes: funding grants. Peta M.A. Alexander reports a relationship with US Department of Defense that includes: funding grants. Peta M.A. Alexander reports a relationship with National Institutes of Health that includes: funding grants. Peta M.A. Alexander reports a relationship with US Food and Drug Administration that includes: funding grants. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper”., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The outcomes of COVID-19 patients on venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) varied. We aim to investigate the variability concerning location and timeframe. We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from 351 institutions in 53 countries. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge or death up to 90 days from ECMO start. The associations between calendar time (month and year) of ECMO initiation and the primary outcome were examined by Cox regression modeling. Multivariable survival analyses were adjusted for the time of ECMO start, age, body mass index, APACHE II, SOFA, and the duration of mechanical ventilation before ECMO., Results: 1060 adult COVID-19 patients enrolled in the COVID-19 Critical Care Consortium (COVID Critical) international registry and required VV-ECMO support. The study period is from January 2020 to December 2021. The median age was 51 years old, and 70% were male patients. Most patients were from Europe (39.3%) and North America (37.4%). The in-hospital mortality of the entire cohort was 47.12%. In North America and Europe, there was an increased probability of death from May 2020 through February 2021. Latin America showed a steady rate of survival until late in the study. South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa showed an increased chance of mortality around May 2020. In the Asian-Pacific region, after February 2021, there was an increased probability of death. The time of ECMO initiation and advanced patient age were associated with increased mortality., Conclusion: Variability in the outcomes of COVID-19 patients on VV-ECMO existed within different regions. This variability reflects the differences in resources, policies, patient selection, management, and possibly COVID-19 virus subtypes. Our findings might help guide global response in the future by early adoption of patient selection protocols, worldwide policies, and delivery of resources., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Gianluigi Li Bassi is a recipient of the BITRECS fellowship; the “BITRECS” project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 754,550 and from the “La Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434), under the agreement LCF/PR/GN18/50310006. Jacky Y Suen is funded by the Advance Queensland fellowship program. Sung-Min Cho is funded by NIH (1K23HL157610) and serves as a consultant for Hyperfine. Peta Alexander is funded by U.S. DoD PRMRP Clinical Trial Award #W81XWH2210301, NIH (R13HD104432) and FDA UCSF-Stanford Center of Excellence in Regulatory Sciences and Innovation (U01FD004979/U01FD005978). Peta Alexander is Treasurer of ELSO Board of Directors.

Objectives: To derive systematic-review informed, modified Delphi consensus regarding prophylactic transfusions in neonates and children supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) from the Pediatric ECMO Anticoagulation CollaborativE., Data Sources: A structured literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) databases from January 1988 to May 2020, with an update in May 2021., Study Selection: Included studies assessed use of prophylactic blood product transfusion in pediatric ECMO., Data Extraction: Two authors reviewed all citations independently, with a third independent reviewer resolving conflicts. Thirty-three references were used for data extraction and informed recommendations. Evidence tables were constructed using a standardized data extraction form., Measurements and Main Results: The evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. Forty-eight experts met over 2 years to develop evidence-informed recommendations and, when evidence was lacking, expert-based consensus statements or good practice statements for prophylactic transfusion strategies for children supported with ECMO. A web-based modified Delphi process was used to build consensus via the Research And Development/University of California Appropriateness Method. Consensus was based on a modified Delphi process with agreement defined as greater than 80%. We developed two good practice statements, 4 weak recommendations, and three expert consensus statements., Conclusions: Despite the frequency with which pediatric ECMO patients are transfused, there is insufficient evidence to formulate evidence-based prophylactic transfusion strategies., Competing Interests: The Executive Committee (Drs. Alexander, Muszynski, Bembea, Cheifetz, Steiner, and Barbaro) served as arbitrators for conflict of interest management. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from Novartis (consultant on the end-point adjudication committee for Prospective Trial to Assess the Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Neprilysin Inhibitor LCZ696 Versus Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor for the Medical Treatment of Pediatric HF [PANORAMA-HF] clinical trial). Dr. Sloan commenced employment with CSL Behring after the consensus process was complete. Dr. Kneyber received funding from Metran. Drs. Alexander and Muszynski’s institutions received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); they received support for article research from the NIH. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization and Novartis. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Objectives: To identify and prioritize research questions for anticoagulation and hemostasis management of neonates and children supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) from the Pediatric ECMO Anticoagulation CollaborativE (PEACE) consensus., Data Sources: Systematic review was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) databases from January 1988 to May 2021, followed by serial consensus conferences of international, interprofessional experts in the management of ECMO for critically ill neonates and children., Study Selection: The management of ECMO anticoagulation for critically ill neonates and children., Data Extraction: Within each of the eight subgroups, two authors reviewed all citations independently, with a third independent reviewer resolving any conflicts., Data Synthesis: Following the systematic review of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases from January 1988 to May 2021, and the consensus process for clinical recommendations and consensus statements, PEACE panel experts constructed research priorities using the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative methodology. Twenty research topics were prioritized, falling within five domains (definitions and outcomes, therapeutics, anticoagulant monitoring, protocolized management, and impact of the ECMO circuit and its components on hemostasis)., Conclusions: We present the research priorities identified by the PEACE expert panel after a systematic review of existing evidence informing clinical care of neonates and children managed with ECMO. More research is required within the five identified domains to ultimately inform and improve the care of this vulnerable population., Competing Interests: Drs. Muszynski and Alexander’s institutions received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Drs. Muszynski, Bembea, Himebauch, Barbaro, and Alexander received support for article research from the NIH. Dr. Bembea’s institution received funding from the National Institute of Neurologic Disorder and Stroke (R01NS106292) and a Grifols Investigator Sponsored Research Grant. Drs. Bembea, Steiner, and Thiagarajan’s institutions received funding from the Department of Defense. Dr. Cheifetz received funding from UptoDate. Dr. Dalton received funding from Innovative Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Concepts, Entegrion, and Hemocue; she disclosed the off-label product use of ECMO equipment and drugs for anticoagulation. Dr. Himebauch receives support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under award number K23HL153759. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. Dr. Said acknowledges research support from the Children’s Discovery Institute Faculty Development Award at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Ozment received funding from Kaufman & Canoles Law Firm, Wiseman Ashworth Law Group, and Social Cascade; she disclosed the off-label product use of Heparin and bivalirudin use in neonatal and pediatric patients on ECMO. Dr. Steiner received funding from Octapharma, MedTronic, and PumpKIN DSMB; she disclosed the off-label product use of rFVIIA, TXA, Amicar, Kcentra. Dr. Thiagarajan received funding from the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). Dr. Zantek received funding from the North American Specialized Coagulation Laboratory Association (NASCOLA), the American Society for Apheresis (ASFA), and BloodNet; she disclosed that she is a Board Member of External Quality Assurance in Thrombosis and Hemostasis, a committee member of NASCOLA, ASFA, the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies, the College of American Pathologists, and the International Society for Laboratory Hematology; she disclosed that her spouse is an employee of Boston Scientific and has a financial interest in Boston Scientific and Endo International. Dr. Barbaro’s institution received funding from the NIH (R01 HL153519 and K12 HL138039); he disclosed that he is a Board Member for ELSO and Co-Chair for Pedi-ECMO. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from ELSO and Novartis. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Objectives: To present recommendations and consensus statements with supporting literature for the clinical management of neonates and children supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) from the Pediatric ECMO Anticoagulation CollaborativE (PEACE) consensus conference., Data Sources: Systematic review was performed using PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) databases from January 1988 to May 2021, followed by serial meetings of international, interprofessional experts in the management ECMO for critically ill children., Study Selection: The management of ECMO anticoagulation for critically ill children., Data Extraction: Within each of eight subgroup, two authors reviewed all citations independently, with a third independent reviewer resolving any conflicts., Data Synthesis: A systematic review was conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases, from January 1988 to May 2021. Each panel developed evidence-based and, when evidence was insufficient, expert-based statements for the clinical management of anticoagulation for children supported with ECMO. These statements were reviewed and ratified by 48 PEACE experts. Consensus was obtained using the Research and Development/UCLA Appropriateness Method. Results were summarized using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation method. We developed 23 recommendations, 52 expert consensus statements, and 16 good practice statements covering the management of ECMO anticoagulation in three broad categories: general care and monitoring; perioperative care; and nonprocedural bleeding or thrombosis. Gaps in knowledge and research priorities were identified, along with three research focused good practice statements., Conclusions: The 91 statements focused on clinical care will form the basis for standardization and future clinical trials., Competing Interests: Drs. Alexander’s and Muszynski’s institutions received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Drs. Alexander, Bembea, Himebauch, Barbaro, and Muszynski received support for article research from the NIH. Drs. Alexander’s and Bembea’s institutions received funding from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from Novartis (Prospective Trial to Assess the Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Neprilysin Inhibitor LCZ696 Versus Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor for the Medical Treatment of Pediatric HF [PANORAMA-HF]). Dr. Alexander disclosed that she is Treasurer of the Board of Directors of ELSO, past Co-Chair of Pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (Pedi-ECMO). Dr. Bembea’s institution received funding from the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke and a Grifols Investigator Sponsored Research Grant. Dr. Cheifetz received funding from UptoDate. Dr. Dalton received funding from Innovative Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Concepts, Medtronic, Entegrion, and Hemocue. Drs. Dalton, Ozment, Barbaro, Almond, Brandão, Baumann Kreuziger, Paden, and Ryerson disclosed the off-label product use of pediatric ECMO-related medications for anticoagulation. Dr. Himebauch’s institution received funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) (K23HL153759). Drs. Karam’s and Nellis’s institutions received funding from the NHBLI (R34HL159119). Dr. Ozment received funding from Kaufman & Canoles, Social Cascade, and Wiseman Ashworth Law Group. Dr. Steiner’s institution received funding from the Department of Defense (DoD); she received funding from Medtronic and Octapharma; she disclosed that she is a Pumps for Kids, Infantsand Neonates (PumpKIN) trial Data Safety and Monitoring Board member. Dr. Alexander’s and Thiagarajan’s institution received funding from the DoD Clinical Trial Award for Trial of Indication-Based Transfusion of RBCs in ECMO trial (W81XWH2210301). Dr. Thiagarajan received funding from Society of Critical Care Medicine and ELSO. Dr. Zantek disclosed that she is a Board Member and Vice President of the North American Specialized Coagulation Laboratory Association and Board Member of the American Society for Apheresis, the External Quality Assurance in Thrombosis and Hemostasis, and Blood Network subgroup of Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators groups; she disclosed that her spouse is an employee of Boston Scientific and owns stock in Endo International PLC. Dr. Barbaro’s institution received funding from the NHLBI (R01 HL153519 and K12 HL138039); he disclosed that he is ELSO Board of Directors and Pedi-ECMO Co-Chair. Dr. Emani received funding from Chiesi Pharma. Dr. Hyslop disclosed he is Co-Chair of ELSO Registry Database Development Committee and Coordinator Liaison to ELSO Steering Committee. Dr. Baumann Kreuziger received funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Dr. Paden disclosed that he is past president and board member of ELSO. Dr. Ryerson received an honorarium from Instrumentation Laboratory for consultation work. Dr. Sloan commenced employment with CSL Behring after the consensus process was complete. Dr. Patregnani received funding from Mallinckrodt; he discloses consultation payments from MNK pharmaceuticals and Pfizer. The Executive Committee (Drs. Alexander, Muszynski, Bembea, Cheifetz, Steiner, and Barbaro) served as arbitrators for conflict-of-interest management. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Objectives: To derive systematic-review informed, modified Delphi consensus regarding antifibrinolytic and adjunct hemostatic agents in neonates and children supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for the Pediatric ECMO Anticoagulation CollaborativE consensus conference., Data Sources: A structured literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) databases from January 1988 to May 2021., Study Selection: Use of antifibrinolytics (epsilon-aminocaproic acid [EACA] or tranexamic acid), recombinant factor VII activated (rFVIIa), or topical hemostatic agents (THAs)., Data Extraction: Two authors reviewed all citations independently, with a third independent reviewer resolving conflicts. Eleven references were used for data extraction and informed recommendations. Evidence tables were constructed using a standardized data extraction form., Measurements and Main Results: Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool. The evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. Forty-eight experts met over 2 years to develop evidence-based recommendations and, when evidence was lacking, expert-based consensus statements for the management of bleeding and thrombotic complications in pediatric ECMO patients. A web-based modified Delphi process was used to build consensus via the Research And Development/University of California Appropriateness Method. Consensus was defined as greater than 80% agreement. One weak recommendation and three consensus statements are presented., Conclusions: Evidence supporting recommendations for administration of antifibrinolytics (EACA or tranexamic acid), rFVIIa, and THAs were sparse and inconclusive. Much work remains to determine effective and safe usage strategies., Competing Interests: The Executive Committee (Drs. Alexander, Muszynski, Bembea, Cheifetz, Steiner, and Barbaro) served as arbitrators for conflict of interest management. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from Novartis (Prospective Trial to Assess the Angiotensin Receptor Blocker NeprilysinInhibitor LCZ696 Versus Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor for the Medical Treatmentof Pediatric HF [PANORAMA-HF]). Dr. Ryerson received an honorarium from the Instrumentation Laboratory for consultation work. Dr. Ryerson disclosed the off-label product use of antifibrinolytic agents (epsilon-aminocaproic acid and tranexamic acid) and topical hemostatic agents. Drs. Alexander and Muszynski’s institutions received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and received support for article research from the NIH. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization and Novartis. Dr. Steiner’s institution received funding from the Department of Defense; she received funding from Octapharma and Medtronic; she disclosed she was on the Data Safety and Monitoring Board for the Pumps for Kids, Infants and Neonates (PumpKIN) Trial; she disclosed the off-label product use of rFVIIa, Kcentra, antithrombin, tranexamic acid, and Amicar. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Objectives: To derive systematic-review informed, modified Delphi consensus regarding the management of bleeding and thrombotic complications during pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for the Pediatric ECMO Anticoagulation CollaborativE Consensus Conference., Data Sources: A structured literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) databases from January 1988 to May 2021., Study Selection: The management of bleeding and thrombotic complications of ECMO., Data Extraction: Two authors reviewed all citations independently, with a third independent reviewer resolving conflicts. Twelve references were used for data extraction and informed recommendations. Evidence tables were constructed using a standardized data extraction form., Data Synthesis: Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool. The evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. Forty-eight experts met over 2 years to develop evidence-based recommendations and, when evidence was lacking, expert-based consensus statements for the management of bleeding and thrombotic complications in pediatric ECMO patients. A web-based modified Delphi process was used to build consensus via the Research And Development/University of California Appropriateness Method. Consensus was defined as greater than 80% agreement. Two good practice statements, 5 weak recommendations, and 18 consensus statements are presented., Conclusions: Although bleeding and thrombotic complications during pediatric ECMO remain common, limited definitive data exist to support an evidence-based approach to treating these complications. Research is needed to improve hemostatic management of children supported with ECMO., Competing Interests: The Executive Committee (Drs. Alexander, Muszynski, Bembea, Cheifetz, Steiner, and Barbaro) served as arbitrators for conflict-of-interest management. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from Novartis (Prospective Trial to Assess the Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Neprilysin Inhibitor LCZ696 Versus Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor for the Medical Treatment of Pediatric HF [PANORAMA-HF]). Dr. Patregnani discloses consultation payments from MNK Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer. Dr. Bembea’s institution received funding from the National Institute of Neurologic Disorder and Stroke (R01NS106292), the Grifols Investigator Sponsored Research Grant, and the Department of Defense. Drs. Bembea, Alexander, and Muszynski received support for article research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Patregnani received funding from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceutical. Drs. Alexander and Muszynski’s institutions received funding from the NIH. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization and Novartis. Dr. Cheifetz received funding from UptoDate. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Objectives: To derive systematic-review informed, modified Delphi consensus regarding the influence of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) circuit components on anticoagulation practices for pediatric ECMO for the Pediatric ECMO Anticoagulation CollaborativE., Data Sources: A structured literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) databases from January 1988 to May 2021., Study Selection: Management of ECMO anticoagulation in the setting of different ECMO circuit components., Data Extraction: Two authors reviewed all citations independently, with a third independent reviewer resolving conflicts. Twenty-nine references were used for data extraction and informed recommendations, evidence-based consensus statements, and good practice statements. Evidence tables were constructed using a standardized data extraction form., Data Synthesis: Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool. The evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. Forty-eight experts met over 2 years to develop evidence-based recommendations and, when evidence was lacking, expert-based consensus statements or good practice statements for the influence of ECMO circuit and components on anticoagulation management. A web-based modified Delphi process was used to build consensus via the Research And Development/University of California Appropriateness Method. Consensus was defined as greater than 80% agreement. One good practice statement, 2 weak recommendations, and 2 consensus statements are presented., Conclusions: The incorporation of new component technologies into clinical practice has outpaced clinical investigations of anticoagulation strategies for pediatric ECMO. Future investigations should leverage academic and industrial collaborations, translational platforms, and modern biostatistical methods to improve patient outcomes., Competing Interests: Dr. Himebauch receives support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number K23HL153759. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. Dr. Said acknowledges research support from the Children’s Discovery Institute Faculty Development Award at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Turner is used by the American Board of Pediatrics, and the content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the American Board of Pediatrics. Drs. Muszynski, and Alexander received support for article research from the NIH. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1R13HD104432), Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO), and Novartis. Dr. Paden received funding from ELSO, he disclosed that he is past president and board member of ELSO, and he disclosed the off-label product use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Objectives: To derive systematic-review informed, modified Delphi consensus regarding anticoagulation monitoring assays and target levels in pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for the Pediatric ECMO Anticoagulation CollaborativE., Data Sources: A structured literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) databases from January 1988 to May 2021., Study Selection: Anticoagulation monitoring of pediatric patients on ECMO., Data Extraction: Two authors reviewed all citations independently, with a third independent reviewer resolving any conflicts. Evidence tables were constructed using a standardized data extraction form., Data Synthesis: Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool or the revised Cochrane risk of bias for randomized trials, as appropriate and the evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. Forty-eight experts met over 2 years to develop evidence-based recommendations and, when evidence was lacking, expert-based consensus statements for clinical recommendations focused on anticoagulation monitoring and targets, using a web-based modified Delphi process to build consensus (defined as > 80% agreement). One weak recommendation, two consensus statements, and three good practice statements were developed and, in all, agreement greater than 80% was reached. We also derived some resources for anticoagulation monitoring for ECMO clinician use at the bedside., Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence to formulate optimal anticoagulation monitoring during pediatric ECMO, but we propose one recommendation, two consensus and three good practice statements. Overall, the available pediatric evidence is poor and significant gaps exist in the literature., Competing Interests: The Executive Committee (Dr. Alexander, Dr. Muszynski, Dr. Bembea, Dr. Cheifetz, Dr. Steiner, and Dr. Barbaro) served as arbitrators for conflict-of-interest management. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from Novartis (Prospective Trial to Assess the Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Neprilysin Inhibitor LCZ696 Versus Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor for the Medical Treatment of Pediatric HF [PANORAMA-HF]). Dr. Ozment received funding from Kaufman & Canoles Law Firm, Social Cascade, and Wiseman Ashworth Law Group. Drs. Ozment and Monagle disclosed the off-label product use of anticoagulants (heparin and bivalirudin) in neonatal and pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) patients. Drs. Alexander and Muszynski’s institutions received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) and Novartis. Drs. Alexander and Muszynski received support for article research from the NIH. Dr. Emani’s institution received funding from Cellvie Bio; he received funding from Cheisi Pharma. Dr. Hyslop disclosed that on a volunteer basis he is the Co-Chair of ELSO Registry Database Development Committee and Coordinator Liaison to ELSO Steering Committee. Dr. Alexander and Thiagarajan’s institution received funding from the US Department of Defense Clinical Trials Award, Trial of Indication-Based Transfusion of RBCs in ECMO trial (W81XWH2210301). Dr. Thiagarajan received funding from ELSO and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Objectives: To derive systematic review informed, modified Delphi consensus regarding monitoring and replacement of specific coagulation factors during pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support for the Pediatric ECMO Anticoagulation CollaborativE., Data Sources: A structured literature search was performed using PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) databases from January 1988 to May 2020, with an update in May 2021., Study Selection: Included studies assessed monitoring and replacement of antithrombin, fibrinogen, and von Willebrand factor in pediatric ECMO support., Data Extraction: Two authors reviewed all citations independently, with conflicts resolved by a third reviewer if required. Twenty-nine references were used for data extraction and informed recommendations. Evidence tables were constructed using a standardized data extraction form., Data Synthesis: Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool. The evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. A panel of 48 experts met over 2 years to develop evidence-based recommendations and, when evidence was lacking, expert-based consensus statements. A web-based modified Delphi process was used to build consensus via the Research And Development/University of California Appropriateness Method. Consensus was defined as greater than 80% agreement. We developed one weak recommendation and four expert consensus statements., Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence to formulate recommendations on monitoring and replacement of antithrombin, fibrinogen, and von Willebrand factor in pediatric patients on ECMO. Optimal monitoring and parameters for replacement of key hemostasis parameters is largely unknown., Competing Interests: Dr. Zantek received funding from the North American Specialized Coagulation Laboratory Association (NASCOLA), the American Society for Apheresis (ASFA), and Blood Network subgroup of Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators; she disclosed that she is a Board Member of External Quality Assurance in Thrombosis and Hemostasis, a committee member of NASCOLA, ASFA, the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies, the College of American Pathologists, and the International Society for Laboratory Hematology; and she disclosed that her spouse is an employee of Boston Scientific and has a financial interest in Boston Scientific and Endo International. Dr. Steiner’s institution received funding from the Department of Defense; she received funding from Medtronic, Octapharma, and Pumps for Kids, Infants and Neonates (PumpKIN) trial Data Safety and Monitoring Board; she disclosed the off-label product use of recombinant factor VIIa. Drs. Teruya, Kreuziger, and Raffini disclosed the off-label product use of antithrombin concentrate. Dr. Raffini received funding from CSL Behring and Boehringer Ingelheim. Drs. Muszynski’s and Alexander’s institutions received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); they received support for article research from the NIH. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization and Novartis. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Objectives: To derive systematic review-informed, modified Delphi consensus regarding the management of children on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) undergoing invasive procedures or interventions developed by the Pediatric Anticoagulation on ECMO CollaborativE (PEACE) Consensus Conference., Data Sources: A structured literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) databases from January 1988 to May 2021., Study Selection: ECMO anticoagulation and hemostasis management in the perioperative period and during procedures., Data Extraction: Two authors reviewed all citations independently, with a third independent reviewer resolving any conflicts. Seventeen references were used for data extraction and informed recommendations. Evidence tables were constructed using a standardized data extraction form., Data Synthesis: Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool. The evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. Forty-eight experts met over 2 years to develop evidence-based recommendations and, when evidence was lacking, expert-based consensus statements for the management of bleeding and thrombotic complications in pediatric ECMO patients. A web-based modified Delphi process was used to build consensus via the Research And Development/University of California Appropriateness Method. Consensus was defined as greater than 80% agreement. Four good practice statements, 7 recommendations, and 18 consensus statements are presented., Conclusions: Although agreement among experts was strong, important future research is required in this population for evidence-informed recommendations., Competing Interests: The Executive Committee (Drs. Alexander, Muszynski, Bembea, Cheifetz, Steiner, and Barbaro) served as arbitrators for conflict of interest management. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from Novartis (Prospective Trial to Assess the Angiotensin ReceptorBlocker Neprilysin Inhibitor LCZ696 Versus Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor for the Medical Treatment of Pediatric HF [PANORAMA-HF]). Drs. Muszynski and Alexander’s institutions received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); they received support for article research from the NIH. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization and Novartis. Dr. Emani received funding from Cheisi Pharma and Cellvie Bio. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Objectives: To derive systematic-review informed, modified Delphi consensus regarding the medications used for anticoagulation for pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for the Pediatric ECMO Anticoagulation CollaborativE (PEACE)., Data Sources: A structured literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) databases from January 1988 to May 2021., Study Selection: Included studies assessed anticoagulation used in pediatric ECMO., Data Extraction: Two authors reviewed all citations independently, with a third reviewer adjudicating any conflicts. Eighteen references were used for data extraction as well as for creation of recommendations. Evidence tables were constructed using a standardized data extraction form., Data Synthesis: Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool. The evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. Forty-eight experts met over 2 years to develop evidence-informed recommendations and, when evidence was lacking, expert-based consensus statements, or good practice statements for anticoagulation during pediatric ECMO. A web-based modified Delphi process was used to build consensus via the Research and Development/University of California Appropriateness Method. Consensus was based on a modified Delphi process with agreement defined as greater than 80%. Two recommendations, two consensus statements, and one good practice statement were developed, and, in all, agreement greater than 80% was reached., Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence to formulate optimal anticoagulation therapy during pediatric ECMO. Additional high-quality research is needed to inform evidence-based practice for anticoagulation during pediatric ECMO., Competing Interests: The Executive Committee (Drs. Alexander, Muszynski, Bembea, Cheifetz, Steiner, and Barbaro) served as arbitrators for conflict of interest management. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from Novartis (ProspectiveTrial to Assess the Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Neprilysin Inhibitor LCZ696 Versus Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor for the Medical Treatment of Pediatric HF [PANORAMA-HF]). Dr. Sloan commenced employment with CSL Behring after the consensus process was complete. Dr. Patregnani discloses consultation payments from MNK Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer. Dr. Dalton discloses she is a consultant for Innovative Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Concepts, Hemocue Entegrion, and Medtronic. Dr. Ryerson received an honorarium from the Instrumentation Laboratory for consultation work. Drs. Brandão, Monagle, Ryerson, Alexander, and Dalton disclosed the off-label product use of direct thrombin inhibitors for pediatric ECMO anticoagulation. Dr. Muszynski’s institution received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Drs. Muszynski and Alexander received support for article research from the NIH. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R13HD104432), ELSO, and Novartis. Dr. Dalton received funding from Innovative ECMO Concepts, Entegrion, and Hemocue. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Competing Interests: Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R13HD104432) and the U.S. Department of Defense (Peer Reviewer Medical Research Program Clinical Trial Award No. W81XWH2210301); she disclosed that they are Treasurer of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Board of Directors. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest.

Objective: To examine characteristics associated with formal ethics consultation (EC) referral in pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) cases, and document ethical issues presented., Design: Retrospective cohort study using mixed methods., Setting: Single-center quaternary pediatric hospital., Patients: Patients supported on ECMO (January 2012 to December 2021)., Interventions: We compared clinical variables among ECMO patients according to the presence of EC. We defined optimal cutoffs for EC based on run duration, ICU length of stay (LOS), and sum of procedures or complications. To identify independent explanatory variables for EC, we used a forward stepwise selection multivariable logistic regression model. EC records were thematically characterized into ethical issues., Measurements and Main Results: Of 601 ECMO patients and 225 patients with EC in 10 years, 27 ECMO patients received EC (4.5% of ECMO patients, 12% of all ECs). On univariate analysis, use of EC vs. not was associated with multiple ECMO runs, more complications/procedures, longer ICU LOS and ECMO duration, cardiac admissions, decannulation outcome, and higher mortality. Cutoffs for EC were ICU LOS >52 days, run duration >160 hours, and >6 complications/procedures. Independent associations with EC included these three cutoffs and older age. The model showed good discrimination (area under the curve 0.88 [0.83, 0.93]) and fit. The most common primary ethical issues were related to end-of-life, ECMO discontinuation, and treatment decision-making. Moral distress was cited in 22 of 27 cases (82%)., Conclusion: EC was used in 4.5% of our pediatric ECMO cases, with most ethical issues related to end-of-life care or ECMO discontinuation. Older age, longer ICU LOS, prolonged runs, and multiple procedures/complications were associated with greater odds for EC requests. These data highlight our single-center experience of ECMO-associated ethical dilemmas. Historical referral patterns may guide a supported decision-making framework. Future work will need to include quality improvement projects for timely EC, with evaluation of impacts on relevant endpoints., Competing Interests: Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from Novartis. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

Objectives: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to support cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is increasingly used in children suffering cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery. However, its efficacy in promoting survival has not been evaluated. We compared survival of pediatric cardiac surgery patients suffering in-hospital cardiac arrest who were resuscitated with extracorporeal CPR (E-CPR) to those resuscitated with conventional CPR (C-CPR) using propensity matching., Design: Retrospective study using multicenter data from the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation registry (2008-2020)., Setting: Multicenter cardiac arrest database containing cardiac arrest and CPR data from U.S. hospitals., Patients: Cardiac surgical patients younger than 18 years old who suffered in-hospital cardiac arrest and received greater than or equal to 10 minutes of CPR., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: Among 1223 patients, 741 (60.6%) received C-CPR and 482 (39.4%) received E-CPR. E-CPR utilization increased over the study period ( p < 0.001). Duration of CPR was longer in E-CPR compared with C-CPR recipients (42 vs. 26 min; p < 0.001). In a propensity score matched cohort (382 E-CPR recipients, 382 C-CPR recipients), E-CPR recipients had survival to discharge (odds ratio [OR], 2.22; 95% CI, 1.7-2.9; p < 0.001). E-CPR survival was only higher when CPR duration was greater than 18 minutes. Propensity matched analysis using patients from institutions contributing at least one E-CPR case ( n = 35 centers; 353 E-CPR recipients, 353 C-CPR recipients) similarly demonstrated improved survival in E-CPR recipients compared with those who received C-CPR alone (OR, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.6-2.8; p < 0.001)., Conclusions: E-CPR compared with C-CPR improved survival in children suffering cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery requiring CPR greater than or equal to 10 minutes., Competing Interests: Dr. Alexander has received funding from National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (R13HD104432), Food and Drug Administration (FP01029501), U.S. Department of Defense (W81XWH2210301), and unrestricted grants from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO); she received funding from Novartis (consultant on the end-point adjudication committee for Prospective Trial to Assess the Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Neprilysin Inhibitor LCZ696 Versus Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor for the Medical Treatment of Pediatric HF (PANORAMA-HF) clinical trial); and she serves as the ELSO Treasurer of the Board of Directors. Dr. Bembea has received grants from NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS106292), NIH/NICHD, ELSO, and Grifols Investigator Sponsored Research Grant. Dr. Thiagarajan has received grants from the U.S. Department of Defense Clinical Trial Award (W81XWH2210301), ELSO, and Society of Critical Care Medicine; he is supported, in part, by the Callaghan Family Chair in Cardiac Critical Care. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) maintains the world's largest extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) registry by volume, center participation, and international scope. This 2022 ELSO Registry Report describes the program characteristics of ECMO centers, processes of ECMO care, and reported outcomes. Neonates (0-28 days), children (29 days-17 years), and adults (≥18 years) supported with ECMO from 2009 through 2022 and reported to the ELSO Registry were included. This report describes adjunctive therapies, support modes, treatments, complications, and survival outcomes. Data are presented descriptively as counts and percent or median and interquartile range (IQR) by year, group, or level. Missing values were excluded before calculating descriptive statistics. Complications are reported per 1,000 ECMO hours. From 2009 to 2022, 154,568 ECMO runs were entered into the ELSO Registry. Seven hundred and eighty centers submitted data during this time (557 in 2022). Since 2009, the median annual number of adult ECMO runs per center per year increased from 4 to 15, whereas for pediatric and neonatal runs, the rate decreased from 12 to 7. Over 50% of patients were transferred to the reporting ECMO center; 20% of these patients were transported with ECMO. The use of prone positioning before respiratory ECMO increased from 15% (2019) to 44% (2021) for adults during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Survival to hospital discharge was greatest at 68.5% for neonatal respiratory support and lowest at 29.5% for ECPR delivered to adults. By 2022, the Registry had enrolled its 200,000th ECMO patient and 100,000th patient discharged alive. Since its inception, the ELSO Registry has helped centers measure and compare outcomes across its member centers and strategies of care. Continued growth and development of the Registry will aim to bolster its utility to patients and centers., Competing Interests: Disclosure: J.E.T. is the Chair of the Registry Committee of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). P.S.B. receives salary support from ELSO. G.M. is the President of ELSO. M.P. is the Immediate past President of ELSO. D.B. receives research support from and consults for LivaNova. He has been on the medical advisory boards for Abiomed, Xenios, Medtronic, Inspira, and Cellenkos. He is the President-elect of ELSO and the Chair of the Executive Committee of the International ECMO Network (ECMONet), and he writes for UpToDate. M.A., A.H., and K.R. are the Immediate Past Co-Chairs of the Scientific Oversight Committee of ELSO. P.R. is the Executive Director of ELSO. C.S. is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ELSO. N.A.B. is the President of European Chapter of ELSO. N.A.B. has been on the medical advisory boards for Xenios and Baxter. T.M. is on the Board of Directors of ELSO. R.D.G. is the President of the Latin-American Chapter of ELSO. P.M.K. is the President of the South West Asia and Africa Chapter of ELSO. J.F.F. is the President of Asia-Pacific Chapter of ELSO. P.M.A.A. is Treasurer of ELSO Board of Directors. P.M.A.A. is funded by U.S. DoD PRMRP Clinical Trial Award #W81XWH2210301, NIH (R13HD104432) and FDA UCSF-Stanford Center of Excellence in Regulatory Sciences and Innovation (U01FD004979/U01FD005978). None of the funding sources were involved in the design or conduct of the study, collection, management, analysis, or interpretation of the data, or preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. No other conflicts of interest reported. R.P.B. is a member of the Board of Directors for ELSO and receives funding from the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute (R01 HL153519)., (Copyright © ASAIO 2024.)

The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) registry captures clinical data and outcomes on patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support across the globe at participating centers. It provides a very unique opportunity to benchmark outcomes and analyze the clinical course to help identify ways of improving patient outcomes. In this review, we summarize select adult ECMO articles published using the ELSO registry over the past 5 years. These articles highlight innovative utilization of the registry data in generating hypotheses for future clinical trials. Members of the ELSO Scientific Oversight Committee can be found here: https://www.elso.org/registry/socmembers.aspx ., Competing Interests: Disclosure: P.S. received personal fees from Fresenius and Getinge and a scientific grant from the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the European Commission (Horizon 2020 Fast Track to Innovation: NCT04115709). K.S. acknowledges research support from Metro North Hospital and Health Service. A.A. receives research support from Francis Family Foundation and NIGMS P20 GM 103652 grant. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to report., (Copyright © ASAIO 2023.)

Children with cardiac disease are at a higher risk of cardiac arrest as compared to healthy children. Delivering adequate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be challenging due to anatomic characteristics, risk profiles, and physiologies. We aimed to review the physiological aspects of resuscitation in different cardiac physiologies, summarize the current recommendations, provide un update of current literature, and highlight knowledge gaps to guide research efforts. We specifically reviewed current knowledge on resuscitation strategies for high-risk categories of patients including patients with single-ventricle physiology, right-sided lesions, right ventricle restrictive physiology, left-sided lesions, myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and arrhythmias. Cardiac arrest occurs in about 1% of hospitalized children with cardiac disease, and in 5% of those admitted to an intensive care unit. Mortality after cardiac arrest in this population remains high, ranging from 30 to 65%. The neurologic outcome varies widely among studies, with a favorable neurologic outcome at discharge observed in 64%-95% of the survivors. Risk factors for cardiac arrest and associated mortality include younger age, lower weight, prematurity, genetic syndrome, single-ventricle physiology, arrhythmias, pulmonary arterial hypertension, comorbidities, mechanical ventilation preceding cardiac arrest, surgical complexity, higher vasoactive-inotropic score, and factors related to resources and institutional characteristics. Recent data suggest that Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation CPR (ECPR) may be a valid strategy in centers with expertise. Overall, knowledge on resuscitation strategies based on physiology remains limited, with a crucial need for further research in this field. Collaborative and interprofessional studies are highly needed to improve care and outcomes for this high-risk population. What is Known: • Children with cardiac disease are at high risk of cardiac arrest, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation may be challenging due to unique characteristics and different physiologies. • Mortality after cardiac arrest remains high and neurologic outcomes suboptimal. What is New: • We reviewed the unique resuscitation challenges, current knowledge, and recommendations for different cardiac physiologies. • We highlighted knowledge gaps to guide research efforts aimed to improve care and outcomes in this high-risk population., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) Reviewer Academy seeks to train and establish a community of trusted, reliable, and skilled peer reviewers with diverse backgrounds and interests to promote high-quality reviews for each of the SCCM journals. Goals of the Academy include building accessible resources to highlight qualities of excellent manuscript reviews; educating and mentoring a diverse group of healthcare professionals; and establishing and upholding standards for insightful and informative reviews. This manuscript will map the mission of the Reviewer Academy with a succinct summary of the importance of peer review, process of reviewing a manuscript, and the expected ethical standards of reviewers. We will equip readers to target concise, thoughtful feedback as peer reviewers, advance their understanding of the editorial process and inspire readers to integrate medical journalism into diverse professional careers., Competing Interests: Dr. Alexander has received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R13HD104432), Food and Drug Administration (FP01029501), US Department of Defense (W81XWH2210301), and unrestricted grants from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). Her institution received funding from Novartis (end-point adjudication committee PANORAMA-HF) and she serves as the ELSO Treasurer of the Board of Directors. Dr. Barreto received funding from Wolters-Kluwer. Dr. Morrow’s institution received funding from the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) for her role as Senior Associate Editor for Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, the National Research Foundation of Southern Africa, and EuroQual; she received funding from the Brazilian Physiotherapy Association. Dr. Mayer’s institution received funding from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (no. K23-AR079583); he received support for article research from the NIH. Dr. Lane-Fall’s institution receives funding from NIH (R01HL153735, P30AG059302, UM1HL088957, U01OD033246, R01HD105446, R01HD109229), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (K12HS026372), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (21106), and the American Heart Association (962544). She serves as the Vice President of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and is on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research. Dr. Kudchadkar has received funding from NIH/NICHD (R01HD103811) and NIH/NIDDK (R01DK132348). Dr. Rech has received research funding from Spero Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Napolitano receives funding from NIH (1R44HD105552, 1R21HD103927-01A1, 1R01HD106996) and FDA (5P50FD006427) and also has research/consulting relationships with Drager, Philips/Respironics, Timpel, Actuated Medical, and Vero-Biotech. Dr. Sorce disclosed that she is an SCCM Executive Board Member. Dr. Tasker is the Editor-in-Chief for Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Buchman is Editor-in-Chief for Critical Care Medicine. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Background: COVID-19 has been associated with a broad range of thromboembolic, ischemic, and hemorrhagic complications (coagulopathy complications). Most studies have focused on patients with severe disease from high-income countries (HICs)., Objectives: The main aims were to compare the frequency of coagulopathy complications in developing countries (low- and middle-income countries [LMICs]) with those in HICs, delineate the frequency across a range of treatment levels, and determine associations with in-hospital mortality., Methods: Adult patients enrolled in an observational, multinational registry, the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infections COVID-19 study, between January 1, 2020, and September 15, 2021, met inclusion criteria, including admission to a hospital for laboratory-confirmed, acute COVID-19 and data on complications and survival. The advanced-treatment cohort received care, such as admission to the intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, or inotropes or vasopressors; the basic-treatment cohort did not receive any of these interventions., Results: The study population included 495,682 patients from 52 countries, with 63% from LMICs and 85% in the basic treatment cohort. The frequency of coagulopathy complications was higher in HICs (0.76%-3.4%) than in LMICs (0.09%-1.22%). Complications were more frequent in the advanced-treatment cohort than in the basic-treatment cohort. Coagulopathy complications were associated with increased in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.52-1.64). The increased mortality associated with these complications was higher in LMICs (58.5%) than in HICs (35.4%). After controlling for coagulopathy complications, treatment intensity, and multiple other factors, the mortality was higher among patients in LMICs than among patients in HICs (odds ratio, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.39-1.51)., Conclusion: In a large, international registry of patients hospitalized for COVID-19, coagulopathy complications were more frequent in HICs than in LMICs (developing countries). Increased mortality associated with coagulopathy complications was of a greater magnitude among patients in LMICs. Additional research is needed regarding timely diagnosis of and intervention for coagulation derangements associated with COVID-19, particularly for limited-resource settings., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has seen an increase in global cases of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with a concomitant increased demand for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Outcomes of patients with severe ARDS due to COVID-19 infection receiving ECMO support are evolving. The need for surge capacity, practical and ethical limitations on implementing ECMO, and the prolonged duration of ECMO support in patients with COVID-19-related ARDS has revealed limitations in organization and resource utilization. Coordination of efforts at multiple levels, from research to implementation, resulted in numerous innovations in the delivery of ECMO., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background : The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Supplies Platform (https://Supplies.ELSO.org) was created out of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) disposable product shortage prior to and during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This novel Platform supports Centers in obtaining disposables from other Centers when alternative avenues are exhausted. Methods : Driven by the opportunity for increased patient care by using the product availability of the 962 ELSO centers worldwide was the motivation to form an efficient online supply sharing Platform. The pandemic created by COVID-19 became a catalyst to further recognize the magnitude of the supply disruption on a global scale, impacting allocations and guidelines for institutions, practice, and patient care. Conclusions : Records kept on the Platform website are helpful to the industry by providing insights into where difficulties exist in the supply chain for needed equipment. Yet, the common thread is awareness, of how critical situations can stretch resources and challenge our resolve for the best patient care. ELSO is proud to support member centers in these situations, by providing a means of attaining needed ECMO life support products to cover supply shortages., Competing Interests: None of the authors report conflicts of interest. PA and MO are members of the ELSO Executive Committee. PR receives payment from ELSO in his role as executive director of ELSO. CS receives payment in her role as CEO of ELSO. JS, DA, and JH are members of the ELSO Steering Committee. PA reports grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Department of Defense (DoD) to support research not specific to this study (R13HD104432; U01FD004979/U01FD005978; PR212162)., (© The Author(s), published by EDP Sciences, 2023.)

Children presenting with acute myocarditis may experience rapid clinical deterioration requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO); however, our understanding of best practices and timing of ECMO initiation are lacking. We explored the relationships between pre-cannulation factors and survival in this high-acuity patient population., Design: Retrospective review of a large international registry. Primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge, stratified by incident cardiac arrest (CA) prior to ECMO and time to cannulation after intubation., Setting and Subjects: The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry was queried for patients less than or equal to 18 years old receiving ECMO support for myocarditis between 2007 and 2018. Exclusion criteria included being nonindex runs, non-venoarterial ECMO or missing data points for main variables studied., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: Population characteristics and survival were compared using t test, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, or Fisher exact test. Multivariable logistic regression was used for significant factors in the unadjusted logistic regression. Among 506 index ECMO runs in pediatric patients with myocarditis, survival for the cohort was 72%, with no difference between early and late eras (2007-2012 vs 2013-2018; p = 0.69). Survivors demonstrated higher pre-ECMO pH levels as well as shorter intubation-to-cannulation (ITC) times (3 hr [interquartile range (IQR)], 1-14 hr vs 6 hr [IQR, 2-20 hr]; p = 0.021). CA occurred within 24 hours prior to ECMO cannulation, including extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, in 54% of ECMO runs ( n = 273). Accounting for the interaction between pre-ECMO CA occurrence and ITC time, longer ITC time remained associated with lower survival for patients who did not experience a CA prior to ECMO, with adjusted odds ratio of 0.09 (IQR, 0.02-0.40; p = 0.002) for ITC time greater than or equal to 18 hours., Conclusions: The results of this multicenter analysis of ECMO utilization and outcomes for pediatric myocarditis suggest that patients approaching ECMO cannulation who have not experienced CA may have better survival outcomes if cannulated onto ECMO early after intubation., Competing Interests: Dr. Thiagarajan received funding from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization and Society of Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from Novartis. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine.)

Evidence for the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in children with refractory respiratory failure or shock following ingestion or toxin exposure, has been confined to single-center experiences, individual case reports, and extrapolated from adult cohorts; no pediatric multicenter cohorts exist. The objective of this retrospective review of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry is to describe pediatric ECMO use following ingestion or toxin exposure, and define factors associated with mortality. Twenty-eight children between the ages of 30 days and 18 years met inclusion criteria between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2017. The primary outcome measure was mortality before hospital discharge, which occurred in 32% of patients. Factors associated with in-hospital mortality included pre-ECMO use of inhaled nitric oxide (44.4% vs. 5.3%, p = 0.026), lower pre-ECMO arterial blood gas pH (6.97 [6.80-7.17] vs. 7.20 [7.15-7.32], p = 0.034), and higher pre-ECMO PaCO2 (79 [57-85] vs. 49 [38-63], p = 0.014). Receipt of inotropic support during ECMO was more common in nonsurvivors (66.7% vs. 21.1%, p = 0.035). Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation should be considered in the most severe pediatric toxin exposures as a bridge to recovery, providing time for both toxin elimination and end-organ recovery., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report., (Copyright © ASAIO 2021.)

Importance: Elective surgeries are primarily scheduled according to surgeon availability with less consideration of patients' postoperative cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) length of stay. Furthermore, the CICU census can exhibit a high rate of variation in which the CICU is operating at over-capacity, resulting in admission delays and cancellations; or under-capacity, resulting in underutilized labor and overhead expenditures., Objective: To identify strategies to reduce variation in CICU occupancy levels and avoid late patient surgery cancellation., Design: Monte Carlo simulation study of the daily and weekly CICU census at Boston Children's Hospital Heart Center. Data on all surgical admissions to and discharges from the CICU at Boston Children's Hospital between September 1, 2009 and November 2019 were included to obtain the distribution of length of stay for the simulation study. The available data allows us to model realistic length of stay samples that include short and extended lengths of stay., Main Outcomes: Annual number of patient surgical cancellations and change in average daily census., Results: We demonstrate that the models of strategic scheduling would result in up to 57% reduction in patient surgical cancellations, increase the historically low Monday census and decrease the historically higher late-mid-week (Wednesday and Thursday) censuses in our center., Conclusions and Relevance: Use of strategic scheduling may improve surgical capacity and reduce the number of annual cancellations. The reduction of peaks and valleys in the weekly census corresponds to a reduction of underutilization and overutilization of the system., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Elia, Ge, Bergersen, Thiagarajan, Thornton, Sleeper, Fynn-Thompson, Mathieu and Alexander.)

Background: Bleeding is a common complication of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for pediatric cardiac patients. We aimed to identify anticoagulation practices, cardiac diagnoses, and surgical variables associated with bleeding during pediatric cardiac ECMO by combining two established databases, the Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network (CPCCRN) Bleeding and Thrombosis in ECMO (BATE) and the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) Registry. Methods: All children (<19 years) with a primary cardiac diagnosis managed on ECMO included in BATE from six centers were analyzed. ELSO Registry criteria for bleeding events included pulmonary or intracranial bleeding, or red blood cell transfusion >80 ml/kg on any ECMO day. Bleeding odds were assessed on ECMO Day 1 and from ECMO Day 2 onwards with multivariable logistic regression. Results: There were 187 children with 114 (61%) bleeding events in the study cohort. Biventricular congenital heart disease (94/187, 50%) and cardiac medical diagnoses (75/187, 40%) were most common, and 48 (26%) patients were cannulated directly from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Bleeding events were not associated with achieving pre-specified therapeutic ranges of activated clotting time (ACT) or platelet levels. In multivariable analysis, elevated INR and fibrinogen were associated with bleeding events (OR 1.1, CI 1.0-1.3, p = 0.02; OR 0.77, CI 0.6-0.9, p = 0.004). Bleeding events were also associated with clinical site (OR 4.8, CI 2.0-11.1, p < 0.001) and central cannulation (OR 1.75, CI 1.0-3.1, p = 0.05) but not with cardiac diagnosis, surgical complexity, or cannulation from CPB. Bleeding odds on ECMO day 1 were increased in patients with central cannulation (OR 2.82, 95% CI 1.15-7.08, p = 0.023) and those cannulated directly from CPB (OR 3.32, 95% CI 1.02-11.61, p = 0.047). Conclusions: Bleeding events in children with cardiac diagnoses supported on ECMO were associated with central cannulation strategy and coagulopathy, but were not modulated by achieving pre-specified therapeutic ranges of monitoring assays., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Ankola, Bailly, Reeder, Cashen, Dalton, Dolgner, Federman, Ghassemzadeh, Himebauch, Kamerkar, Koch, Kohne, Lewen, Srivastava, Willett and Alexander.)

Context: Cardiovascular dysfunction is associated with poor outcomes in critically ill children., Objective: We aim to derive an evidence-informed, consensus-based definition of cardiovascular dysfunction in critically ill children., Data Sources: Electronic searches of PubMed and Embase were conducted from January 1992 to January 2020 using medical subject heading terms and text words to define concepts of cardiovascular dysfunction, pediatric critical illness, and outcomes of interest., Study Selection: Studies were included if they evaluated critically ill children with cardiovascular dysfunction and assessment and/or scoring tools to screen for cardiovascular dysfunction and assessed mortality, functional status, organ-specific, or other patient-centered outcomes. Studies of adults, premature infants (≤36 weeks gestational age), animals, reviews and/or commentaries, case series (sample size ≤10), and non-English-language studies were excluded. Studies of children with cyanotic congenital heart disease or cardiovascular dysfunction after cardiopulmonary bypass were excluded., Data Extraction: Data were abstracted from each eligible study into a standard data extraction form, along with risk-of-bias assessment by a task force member., Results: Cardiovascular dysfunction was defined by 9 elements, including 4 which indicate severe cardiovascular dysfunction. Cardiopulmonary arrest (>5 minutes) or mechanical circulatory support independently define severe cardiovascular dysfunction, whereas tachycardia, hypotension, vasoactive-inotropic score, lactate, troponin I, central venous oxygen saturation, and echocardiographic estimation of left ventricular ejection fraction were included in any combination. There was expert agreement (>80%) on the definition., Limitations: All included studies were observational and many were retrospective., Conclusions: The Pediatric Organ Dysfunction Information Update Mandate panel propose this evidence-informed definition of cardiovascular dysfunction., Competing Interests: FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The authors have indicated they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.)

Objectives: Although there is a substantial published experience of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation during the H1N1 pandemic, less is known about the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in patients with other subtypes of the influenza A virus. We hypothesized that the severity of illness and survival of patients supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation would differ for those with H1N1 influenza A compared with other subtypes of influenza A., Design Setting Patients: Retrospective study of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation-supported adults (> 18 yr) with influenza A viral infection reported to the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry between 2009 and 2019. We describe the frequency and compare characteristics and factors associated with in-hospital survival using a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis., Main Outcomes and Measures: Of 2,461 patients supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for influenza A, 445 had H1N1, and 2,004 had other subtypes of influenza A. H1N1 was the predominant subtype between 2009 and 2011. H1N1 patients were younger, with more severe illness at extracorporeal membrane oxygenation cannulation and higher reported extracorporeal membrane oxygenation complications than those with other influenza A subtypes. Patient characteristics including younger age and higher weight and patient management characteristics including longer ventilation duration before extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were associated with worse survival. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation complications were associated with reduced survival. There was no difference in survival to hospital discharge according to influenza subtype after adjusting for other characteristics., Conclusions: Patients supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for H1N1 were younger, with more severe illness than those supported for other influenza A subtypes. Survival to hospital discharge was associated with patient characteristics, management characteristics, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation complications but was not impacted by the specific influenza A subtype., Competing Interests: Dr. Tonna is supported by a Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (K23 HL141596). Dr. Tonna received speaker fees and travel compensation from LivaNova and Philips Healthcare, unrelated to this work. Dr. Barbaro reports grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01 HL153519-ASCEND; K12 HL138039-TACTICAL; R01 HD01543-Pediatric Implantable Artificial Lung) outside the submitted work; he also discloses that he is the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry Chair. Dr. Alexander reports grants from the National Institutes of Health (1R13HD104432-01 Pediatric Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation Anticoagulation CollaborativE) outside the submitted work. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Society of Critical Care Medicine.)

Decision-making surrounding extracorporeal membrane oxygenation initiation and decannulation has become a key challenge in critical care. Nuanced communication skills and transparent discussions about prognosis are imperative during this lifesaving, yet high-risk and burdensome intervention. Serious illness conversation guides are proving beneficial for patients, families and staff to communicate uncertainty and facilitate shared decision-making toward goal-concordant care. While the literature emphasizes the imperative to provide guidance for clinicians, no practical guide exists for communicating serious illness and prognostic uncertainty when managing children supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and their families. To address this gap, we propose a structured conversation guide for critical early timepoints during pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support relevant for all cannulations and subsequent iterative discussions toward decannulation. The overarching approach defines extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a bridge or temporary support device, part of a larger therapeutic effort toward a specific goal or goals. The Day 0 talk at extracorporeal membrane oxygenation initiation is brief, disclosing the serious nature of needing this level of support, and sets clear expectations toward a goal. The Day 1 talk provides further details about benefits and burdens of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, cultivates prognostic awareness about potential outcomes and elicits families' goals of care with iterative discussions about how extracorporeal membrane oxygenation may promote these goals. If extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is no longer effective to achieve the intended goal, recommendations are provided for discontinuation of support. When death is anticipated or possible, end-of-life planning, contingencies, and escalation limits should be discussed. The communication framework presented can be adapted to unique institutional and clinical settings. Future research is required to investigate utility and potential barriers to implementation. We anticipate that structured conversations during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support will facilitate clear expectations toward a common treatment goal, foster therapeutic relationships, ensure clinician alignment and consistent language, mitigate communication gaps, support bereavement, and minimize conflict., Competing Interests: Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from Novartis; she received funding from Instrumentation Laboratories; she disclosed the off-label product use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.)

These guidelines are applicable to neonates and children with cardiac failure as indication for extracorporeal life support. These guidelines address patient selection, management during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and pathways for weaning support or bridging to other therapies. Equally important issues, such as personnel, training, credentialing, resources, follow-up, reporting, and quality assurance, are addressed in other Extracorporeal Life Support Organization documents or are center-specific., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report., (Copyright © ELSO 2021.)

Objectives: Hemoptysis is uncommon in children, even among the critically ill, with a paucity of epidemiological data to inform clinical decision-making. We describe hemoptysis-associated ICU admissions, including those who were critically ill at hemoptysis onset or who became critically ill as a result of hemoptysis, and identify predictors of mortality., Design: Retrospective cohort study. Demographics, hemoptysis location, and management were collected. Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction-2 score within 24 hours of hemoptysis described illness severity. Primary outcome was inhospital mortality., Setting: Quaternary pediatric referral center between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2017., Patients: Medical/surgical (PICU), cardiac ICU, and term neonatal ICU admissions with hemoptysis during or within 24 hours of ICU admission., Interventions: No intervention., Measurements and Main Results: There were 326 hemoptysis-associated ICU admissions in 300 patients. Most common diagnoses were cardiac (46%), infection (15%), bronchiectasis (10%), and neoplasm (7%). Demographics, interventions, and outcomes differed by diagnostic category. Overall, 79 patients (26%) died inhospital and 109 (36%) had died during follow-up (survivor mean 2.8 ± 1.9 yr). Neoplasm, bronchiectasis, renal dysfunction, inhospital hemoptysis onset, and higher Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction-2 score were independent risk factors for inhospital mortality (p < 0.02). Pharmacotherapy (32%), blood products (29%), computerized tomography angiography (26%), bronchoscopy (44%), and cardiac catheterization (36%) were common. Targeted surgical interventions were rare. Of survivors, 15% were discharged with new respiratory support. Of the deaths, 93 (85%) occurred within 12 months of admission. For patients surviving 12 months, 5-year survival was 87% (95% CI, 78-92) and mortality risk remained only for those with neoplasm (log-rank p = 0.001)., Conclusions: We observed high inhospital mortality from hemoptysis-associated ICU admissions. Mortality was independently associated with hemoptysis onset location, underlying diagnosis, and severity of critical illness at event. Additional mortality was observed in the 12-month posthospital discharge. Future directions include further characterization of this vulnerable population and management recommendations for life-threatening pediatric hemoptysis incorporating underlying disease pathophysiology., Competing Interests: Dr. Thiagarajan’s institution received funding from Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer. Dr. Alexander’s institution received funding from Novartis and Tenax Therapeutics (supplied therapeutic agent, levosimendan, at no charge to patients as part of a compassionate access clinical trial) and she disclosed off-label product use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and agents such as tranexamic acid, which are not U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved for use in this population. The remaining authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Objectives: The manipulation of arterial carbon dioxide tension is associated with differential mortality and neurologic injury in intensive care and cardiac arrest patients; however, few studies have investigated this relationship in patients on venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. We investigated the association between the initial arterial carbon dioxide tension and change over 24 hours on mortality and neurologic injury in patients undergoing venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for cardiac arrest and refractory cardiogenic shock., Design: Retrospective cohort analysis of adult patients recorded in the international Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry., Setting: Data reported to the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization from all international extracorporeal membrane oxygenation centers during 2003-2016., Patients: Adult patients (≥ 18 yr old) supported with venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: A total of 7,168 patients had sufficient data for analysis at the initiation of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, 4,918 of these patients had arterial carbon dioxide tension data available at 24 hours on support. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 59.9%. A U-shaped relationship between arterial carbon dioxide tension tension at extracorporeal membrane oxygenation initiation and in-hospital mortality was observed. Increased mortality was observed with a arterial carbon dioxide tension less than 30 mm Hg (odds ratio, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.08-1.47; p = 0.003) and greater than 60 mm Hg (odds ratio, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.10-1.50; p = 0.002). Large reductions (> 20 mm Hg) in arterial carbon dioxide tension over 24 hours were associated with important neurologic complications: intracranial hemorrhage, ischemic stroke, and/or brain death, as a composite outcome (odds ratio, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.03-2.59; p = 0.04), independent of the initial arterial carbon dioxide tension., Conclusions: Initial arterial carbon dioxide tension tension was independently associated with mortality in this cohort of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients. Reductions in arterial carbon dioxide tension (> 20 mm Hg) from the initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were associated with neurologic complications. Further prospective studies testing these associations are warranted.

Optimal management of pediatric cardiac donors is essential in order to maximize donor heart utilization and minimize the rate of discarded organs. This review was performed after a systematic literature review and gives a detailed overview on current practices and guidelines. The review focuses on optimal monitoring of pediatric donors, donor workup, hormonal replacement, and obliterating the adverse effects of brain death. The current evidence on catecholamine support and thyroid hormone replacement is also discussed. Recognizing and addressing this shall help in a standardized approach toward donor management and optimal utilization of pediatric heart donors organs., (© 2020 The Authors. Pediatric Transplantation published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objectives: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is used for postcardiotomy low cardiac output but is less established following heart transplantation. We characterized outcomes for children supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation after heart transplantation., Design: Single-center retrospective study., Setting: Large pediatric cardiac referral center., Patients: All patients who received heart transplantation and were cannulated to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation between 1995 and 2016., Interventions: Primary outcome measure was mortality 12 months postextracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Patient characteristics were analyzed for association with outcome according to early graft failure (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation ≤ 7 d after heart transplantation), or late graft failure., Measurements and Main Results: There were 246 heart transplants during the study period and 50 extracorporeal membrane oxygenation runs in 44 patients. Median time from transplant to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was 1 day (range, 0-11.7 yr), with early graft failure in 28 patients (median 1, range 0-2 d) and 22 extracorporeal membrane oxygenation runs in 20 late graft failure patients (median, 0.8 yr; range, 8 d to 11.7 yr), including four patients with prior extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for early graft failure. Twenty-six patients (59%) survived to hospital discharge, and survival 12 months postextracorporeal membrane oxygenation was 24 patients (55%), lower in those with late graft failure (40% vs 67%; p 0.02). Independent risk factors for 12-month mortality were congenital heart disease, higher pulmonary vascular resistance indexed to body surface area (> 2.2 Woods U/m), and higher creatinine. Higher panel reactive antibody levels were associated with 12-month mortality in the late graft failure group only., Conclusions: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can be effectively used to rescue patients with graft dysfunction after heart transplantation but is associated with high early mortality. Factors associated with mortality within 12 months include presence of congenital heart disease, renal dysfunction, elevated pulmonary vascular resistance indexed to body surface area and in those supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation late after heart transplantation, significant human leukocyte antigen sensitization.

Objectives: To quantify and identify factors associated with bleeding events during pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation., Design: Retrospective cohort study with primary outcome of bleeding days on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation., Setting: Single tertiary care children's hospital., Subjects: One-hundred twenty-two children supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for greater than 12 hours during January 2015 through December 2016., Interventions: Bleeding days were identified if mediastinal or cannula site exploration, activated factor VII administration, gastrointestinal, pulmonary, or intracranial hemorrhages occurred. Logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with bleeding days., Measurements and Main Results: Study population was identified from institutional extracorporeal membrane oxygenation database. Clinical, laboratory, and survival data were obtained from medical records. Only data from patients' first extracorporeal membrane oxygenation run were used. One-hundred twenty-two patients with median age of 17 weeks (interquartile range, 1-148 wk) were analyzed. Congenital heart disease (n = 56, 46%) was the most common diagnosis. Bleeding days comprised 179 (16%) of the 1,121 observed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation-patient-days. By extracorporeal membrane oxygenation day 4, 50% of users had experienced a bleeding day. Central rather than peripheral cannulation (odds ratio, 2.58; 95% CI, 1.47-4.52; p < 0.001), older age (odds ratio, 1.31 per increased week; 95% CI, 1.14-1.52; p < 0.001), higher lactate (odds ratio, 1.08 per 1 mmol/L increase; 95% CI, 1.05-1.12; p < 0.001), and lower platelets (odds ratio, 0.87 per 25,000 cell/μL increase; 95% CI, 0.77-0.99; p = 0.005) were associated with bleeding days. Patients who experienced more frequent bleeding (> 75th percentile) had fewer ventilator-free and hospital-free days in the 60 days after cannulation (0 vs 31; p = 0.002 and 0 vs 0; p = 0.008) and higher in-hospital mortality (68 vs 34%; p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Central cannulation, older age, low platelets, and high lactate are associated with bleeding days during pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Patients who bleed more frequently during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation have higher in-hospital mortality, longer technological dependence, and reduced hospital-free days.

Objectives: To determine whether mortality differs between roller and centrifugal pumps used during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in infants weighing less than 10 kg., Design: Retrospective propensity-matched cohort study., Setting: All extracorporeal membrane oxygenation centers reporting to the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization., Patients: All patients less than 10 kg supported on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation during 2011-2016 within Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry., Interventions: Centrifugal and roller pump recipients were propensity matched (1:1) based on predicted probability of receiving a centrifugal pump using demographic variables, indication for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, central versus peripheral cannulation, and pre-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patient management., Measurements and Main Results: A total of 12,890 patients less than 10 kg were supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation within the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry during 2011-2016. Patients were propensity matched into a cohort of 8,366. Venoarterial and venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation runs were propensity matched separately. The propensity-matched cohorts were similar except earlier year of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (standardized mean difference, 0.49) in the roller pump group. Within the propensity-matched cohort, survival to discharge was lower in the centrifugal pump group (57% vs 59%; odds ratio, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.83-0.99; p = 0.04). Hemolytic, infectious, limb injury, mechanical, metabolic, neurologic, pulmonary, and renal complications were more frequent in the centrifugal pump group. Hemorrhagic complications were similar between groups. Hemolysis mediated the relationship between centrifugal pumps and mortality (indirect effect, 0.023; p < 0.001)., Conclusions: In this propensity score-matched cohort study of 8,366 extracorporeal membrane oxygenation recipients weighing less than 10 kg, those supported with centrifugal pumps had increased mortality and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation complications. Hemolysis was evaluated as a potential mediator of the relationship between centrifugal pump use and mortality and met criteria for full mediation.

Objectives: To describe the etiologies of hemoptysis in patients without pre-existing bronchiectasis or cardiac disease; to assess odds of recurrent hemoptysis by diagnostic category; and to assess odds of mortality by diagnostic category., Study Design: This retrospective case series included all patients with hemoptysis documented during an admission to Boston Children's Hospital from January 1, 2007 to June 1, 2017. Patients with bronchiectasis, congenital heart disease, primary pulmonary hypertension, bleeding above the glottis, hemoptysis before 38 weeks of corrected gestational age, hematemesis, foreign body, and trauma were excluded. Patients were also characterized by coagulation status. Primary outcomes were recurrent hemoptysis and death. Univariate analysis was performed to determine ORs for recurrence and death per diagnostic category with infection as the reference category., Results: In total, 257 patients met study criteria and were analyzed. The most common causes of hemoptysis were infection (n = 122), neoplasm (n = 58), and other diagnoses (n = 49). Of the patients with infection, recurrence was 28% and all-cause mortality was 12%. Neoplasm had lower odds of recurrence (OR 0.3, P = .012) but higher odds of mortality (OR 15.8, P < .001). Thrombocytopenia had lower odds of recurrence (OR 0.2, P = .005) but higher odds of mortality (OR 5.9, P < .001). Patients with a tracheostomy had higher odds of recurrence (OR 6.3, P < .001), but lower odds of death (OR 0.4, P = .042)., Conclusions: This study confirms that infection is the most common cause of hemoptysis in patients without severe underlying pulmonary or cardiac disease. Hemoptysis associated with neoplasm and/or thrombocytopenia confers mortality risk. Tracheostomy confers risk of recurrence. Future prospective research on diagnoses associated with hemoptysis is warranted., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)