Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Cardiac Intensive Care Unit

In critical care units, doctors usually witness patients coming with single organ failure and subsequently suffer multiorgan failure before they succumb to the destiny. It is well-known that hardly a few patients die of single organ failure, and with addition of every organ, the risk of mortality increases by 10%. The multiorgan failure is secondary to inadequate organ function, tissue perfusion, and oxygenation or due to iatrogenic causes. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is not a treatment by itself but a mechanical assist device or rather a replacement therapy to sustain life, to give rest to the organs, and to maintain adequate perfusion and oxygenation. There are various articles discussing the outcomes of ECMO in cardiogenic shock with varied etiology. ECMO support can rescue 40% of patients with otherwise fatal cardiogenic shock (mortality without ECMO is > 80%). As per ELSO data January 2017, 10,982 patients were reported in adult cardiac ECMO, out of whom 56% survived ECLS and 40% survived to discharge. The newer scoring system named SAVE score (its online calculator [www.save-score.com]) offers a validated tool to predict survival for patients receiving ECMO for refractory cardiogenic shock.