Waqas Akhtar, Neil Brain, Clara Hernandez Caballero, Luigi Camporota, Charles D. Deakin, Pauline Elliott, Hannah Fitzmaurice, Luke Flower, Debra Gaffey, Miguel Torres García, Roy S. Gardner, Georgios Georgovasilis, Matthew Govier, Timothy Jackson, Ian Naldrett, Marlies Ostermann, Henning Pauli, Brijesh Patel, Sameer Patel, Sofia Pinto, Timothy Pitt, Aaron M. Ranasinghe, Carla Richardson, Hayley Robertson, A Rubino, Caroline Sampson, Rana Sayeed, Sachin J. Shah, Neil A. Swanson, Louit Thakuria, Christopher Walker, Stephen Webb, Barbara Wilson, Alex Rosenberg
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is providing an increasingly important therapy for patients in severe heart and lung failure. Care of these patients is complex, with changes in circulation that mean standard advanced life support algorithms may not always be applicable. Through collaboration between all UK ECMO centres and eight national societies, we have assessed the current evidence base and, using a modified Delphi process, produced national guidelines on the management of emergencies on ECMO. The guidelines focus on the recognition of cardiac arrest, team prioritisation, and early ECMO troubleshooting for key life-saving interventions. The guidelines are applicable to all staff and types of ECMO performed in the UK and should be utilised in conjunction with appropriate training. In summary, the joint British societies and ECMO centres working group present the UK guideline for the management of emergencies in ECMO.