
- Who performs ECMO procedure? It is usually the cardiac surgeon who performs the procedure.
- How much does an ECMO cost? The mean estimated cost of an ECMO is around US $ 70,000 but adds up to around US $ 200,000 with pre- and ...
- What is the outlook for patients on ECMO? ...
- Is it still possible to breastfeed a baby which is on ECMO? ...
Full Answer
Why is ECMO treatment so costly?
To achieve estimates of total costs, patient-specific costs and patient-specified overhead costs were summarised. Results: The mean estimated cost for the ECMO procedure was 73,122 USD (SD 34,786) and median 62,545 USD (range: 34,121-154,817). The mean estimated total hospital costs, including pre- and post-ECMO procedures, was 213,246 USD (SD 12,265), median …
How much does electronic home monitoring cost?
The results show a large variation in the cost of ECMO over multiple cost categories (e.g., range of total in-hospital costs of treatment: USD 42,554-537,554 [in 2013 values]). In the U.S.A., the reported costs of ECMO were highest for CDH repair, followed by cardiac conditions, and lowest for respiratory conditions.
How much does it cost to decommission geothermal power?
Feb 01, 2010 · Our main results – that an average ECMO procedure costs 73,122 USD and that an average ECMO patient had a total hospital cost of 210,142 USD – demonstrate that ECMO is a highly resource-demanding procedure. The major portion of the costs is related to treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU).
How is ECMO different than a ventilator?
The cost of the ECMO procedure, excluding charges for skilled HCWs, for initial two days is around ₹1.75 lakh-¥3 lakh per day. And ₹80,000 to ₹1 lakh a day is charged thereafter. The charges vary according to hospitals.

How long is an ECMO?
The average duration of the ECMO was 9.5 days (range: 4–23 days), of which almost all days were ICU days. The mean length of stay at hospital was 51.5 days (range: 6–123 days). The ICU stay constituted the main part of the total length of hospital stays, with an average of 32.8 days (range: 0–88 days) ( Table 2 ).
What is ECMO in medical terms?
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a technique for providing life support to patients suffering from severe, but reversible, pulmonary and/or cardiac failure. It is an expensive procedure with significant complications, but with a high survival rate justifying its increasing use in the western world [1–5].
How are ECMO cannulas inserted?
The ECMO cannulas were inserted percutaneously into the femoral artery and vein by the Seldinger technique in nine patients. In four patients, a cut-down technique (neck cannulation of carotid artery and jugular vein) was used. In two patients, direct cannulation (of the heart after open heart surgery) was used.
Abstract
Costs associated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are an important factor in establishing cost effectiveness. In this systematic review, we aimed to determine the total hospital costs of ECMO for adults.
Introduction
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is the use of mechanical support to temporarily (days to months) support heart and/or lung function (partially or totally) during cardiopulmonary failure when conventional treatments have failed, until recovery or permanent device implant or organ transplantation [ 1 ].
Methods
This study was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines [ 15 ], and is listed in the PROSPERO register (registration number CRD42020167456.
Results
A total of 1768 unique articles were retrieved in our search. We assessed 74 full-text articles for eligibility, resulting in 14 articles being included in this review. The reasons for exclusion are explained in Fig. 1. One study was a prospective randomized controlled trial, while all other studies had an observational design (Table 1 ).
Discussion
ECMO therapy is an advanced and expensive technology, although reported costs differ considerably depending on ECMO indication and whether charges or costs are measured.
Conclusion
The current literature shows large variation in hospital costs for ECMO support. Although the benefit of ECMO therapy is not beyond any doubt, apart from ECPR there is unlikely to be additional randomized controlled trial evidence, therefore costs and assumed cost effectiveness are important factors in further implementation of ECMO therapy.
Acknowledgements
Members of the Dutch Extracorporeal Life Support Study Group: Annemieke Oude Lansink-Hartgring, Department of Critical Care, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. Walter M.
How is ECMO performed?
Connecting the patient to the ECMO device is a surgical procedure and is performed in the ICU. The patient is sedated and is administered anti-coagulant to minimize clotting of the blood. After inserting the ECMO catheters in the blood vessels, X-rays are taken to ensure that the tubes are in the right place. The patient is also connected to a ventilator to allow the lungs to heal. The patient is closely monitored by a team of therapists and nurses, along with the surgical team. The nasogastric tube is also inserted to help the patient with supplemental nutrition.
When is ECMO used?
It is used when only the lungs are affected. ECMO is used in patients recovering from lung failure, heart failure, or heart surgery. It is also used as a bridge when doctors want to assess the state of other organs, and when patients wait for a lung transplant.
What is ECMO machine?
The ECMO is a machine that mimics the functions of the heart and lungs. It is predominantly used during open-heart surgeries at Max hospital, India, where our doctors bypass the function of the organs to the machine while repairing it. The ECMO machine helps in pumping and oxygenating the blood outside the body, allowing the lungs and the heart to rest. The success rates of the ECMO procedure at Max Hospital, India, have been remarkable and have proven to be beneficial in saving the lives of hundreds of patients. The facility has the best panel of specialists and state of the art technology to ensure the best treatment for their patients. There are two types of ECMO, namely
What is the purpose of USG head before ECMO?
USG Head: This is performed on young infants to rule out bleeding in the brain. The ECMO is not used in case of severe bleeding in the brain.
What is the difference between a VA and a VV ECMO?
VA ECMO: This is connected to both a vein and an artery. It is used when there are problems with both the lungs and the heart. VV ECMO: This is connected with one or many veins near the heart. It is used when only the lungs are affected.
What is the purpose of ECMO?
Electrocardiogram: This is a test to monitor the electrical activities of the heart. USG Head: This is performed on young infants to rule out bleeding in the brain. The ECMO is not used in case of severe bleeding in the brain.
Is removing ECMO tubes a surgical procedure?
Removing the ECMO tubes and discontinuing the patient from the machine is also a surgical procedure. Multiple tests are performed before discontinuing. It is to ensure that the heart and lungs are ready to function on their own. The blood vessels will be repaired after removing the ECMO.
How much does an ECMO procedure cost?
40, 41 For example, a recent study showed that an average ECMO procedure costs $73,122, whereas an average ECMO patient had a total hospital cost of $210,142. 42 ...
What is ECMO in critical care?
Use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been exponentially increasing over the last decade and is now considered a mainstream lifesaving treatment modality in critical care medicine. However, the need for physician education, training, and experience remains imperative. Although ECMO has traditionally been used in end-stage lung disease and circulatory collapse, it is being adopted for use in right heart failure, as a bridge to heart and lung transplantation, and as rescue therapy for both sepsis and post-organ transplantation. The following article discusses indications, management, complications, and challenges of ECMO as well as our experience at the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center.
What is ECMO in lung transplant?
Background: There is little in the literature pertaining to cost associated with the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in lung transplantation. We sought to evaluate charges associated with the index hospitalization among recipients of a lung transplant who required ECMO to identify factors that increase hospital charges in these patients. Methods: With the use of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, we reviewed data pertaining to patients who received a lung transplant between 2000 and 2011 and stratified them into ECMO and non-ECMO groups based on use of ECMO. Regression modeling was used to identify differences in charges. Results: Data pertaining to 15,596 recipients of a lung transplant were evaluated, 658 (4.2%) of whom required ECMO. ECMO recipients were more likely to have a diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (3.5% versus 1.3%, p = 0.007) or pulmonary hypertension (PH) (9.1% versus 3.0%, p < 0.001). Patients who received a bilateral lung transplant had 32.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 26.2% to 37.9%, p < 0.001) higher charges. Recipients with PH had 28.7% (95% CI: 14.9% to 42.4%, p = 0.001) higher charges. Median charges for recipients of a lung transplant who required ECMO were $780,391.50 versus $324,279.80 for non-ECMO recipients of a lung transplant and were 50.3% (95% CI: 33.0% to 67.5%, p < 0.001) higher. Hospital charges among Medicare enrollees were 6.6% (95% CI: 0.7% to 12.5%, p = 0.028) higher than privately insured recipients of a lung transplant. Black recipients had approximately 34.2% (95% CI: 3.2% to 65.0%, p = 0.030) higher charges. The ECMO group had longer median length of stay (LOS) (25 versus 15 days, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Recipients of a lung transplant who required ECMO support had longer LOS and higher hospital charges, specifically among black recipients, recipients with PH, and Medicare enrollees.
What is ECMO in medical terms?
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a method of life support to maintain cardiopulmonary function. Its use as a medical application has increased since its inception to treat multiple conditions including acute respiratory distress syndrome, myocardial ischemia, cardiomyopathy, and septic shock. While complications including neurological and renal injury occur in patients on ECMO, bleeding and coagulopathy are most common. ECMO is associated with an inflammatory response promoting a hypercoagulable state, requiring anticoagulation to avoid thromboembolism originating in the nonendothelial surfaced circuit. However, excessive anticoagulation may result in bleeding complications including intracerebral hemorrhage. Monitoring anticoagulation for ECMO has its origins in cardiopulmonary bypass for cardiac surgery; however, there is no ideal level of anticoagulation, no standardized method to monitor anticoagulation, nor are all centers standardized on what is used for anticoagulation. Multiple blood products are used in an effort to decrease bleeding in the setting of anticoagulation, often in the setting of recent surgery, and this leads to significant increases in cost for patients on ECMO and transfusion-related complications. In this review article, we discuss the evolution of the various modalities of ECMO, indications, contraindications, and complications. Furthermore, we review the different strategies for anticoagulation and treatment of coagulopathy while on ECMO. Finally, we discuss the cost of ECMO and associated blood product transfusion.
What is ECMO in cardiac arrest?
Background Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has become the treatment of choice for severely hypothermic patients in cardiac arrest or acute cardiac failure. Highly specialized ECMO centres have been established, however, no centre has ever reported the costs of extracorporeal rewarming. The aim of this study was to assess the costs of the treatment of patients in Swiss Stage III and IV rewarmed with veno‐arterial ECMO. Methods A retrospective exploratory cohort study analysed twenty‐nine consecutive patients treated for hypothermia in the Severe Accidental Hypothermia Centre in Cracow, Poland. The main outcome parameters were the overall and specific costs of the ICU treatment of patients rewarmed with veno‐arterial ECMO. The secondary outcome parameter was cost utility, determined by the costs involved for every year of life gained. Costs were processed using the bottom‐up method and classified into six categories. Survivors were followed up after 1 year. Results The mean cost of VA‐ECMO was $5133 USD, which equalled 35% of all ICU expenditures ($14 668 USD). One year after discharge, 13 of 29 patients were still alive (45%). The overall gain of life of the thirteen 1‐year survivors was 28 years, while the mean cost related to treatment with VA‐ECMO for each year of life gained was 1138 USD. Conclusions In this study, the costs of VA‐ECMO rewarming and intensive care treatment per patient were substantially lower than in other studies reporting ECMO and intensive care treatment of other causes.
What is a VV-ECMO?
Despite a potentially effective therapy for adult respiratory failure, a general agreement on venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) has not been reached among institutions due to its invasiveness and high resource usage. To establish consensus on the timing of intervention, large ECMO organizations have published the respiratory extracorporeal membrane oxygenation survival prediction (RESP) score and the ECMOnet score, which allow users to predict hospital mortality for candidates with their pre-ECMO presentations. This study was aimed to test the predictive powers of these published scores in a medium-sized cohort enrolling adults treated with VV-ECMO for acute respiratory failure, and develop an institutional prediction model under the framework of the 3 scores if a superior predictive power could be achieved. This retrospective study included 107 adults who received VV-ECMO for severe acute respiratory failure (a PaO2/FiO2 ratio <70 mm Hg) in a tertiary referral center from 2007 to 2015. Essential demographic and clinical data were collected to calculate the RESP score, the ECMOnet score, and the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score before VV-ECMO. The predictive power of hospital mortality of each score was presented as the area under receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROC). The multivariate logistic regression was used to develop an institutional prediction model. The surviving to discharge rate was 55% (n = 59). All of the 3 published scores had a real but poor predictive power of hospital mortality in this study. The AUROCs of RESP score, ECMOnet score, and SOFA score were 0.662 (P = 0.004), 0.616 (P = 0.04), and 0.667 (P = 0.003), respectively. An institutional prediction model was established from these score parameters and presented as follows: hospital mortality (Y) = -3.173 + 0.208 × (pre-ECMO SOFA score) + 0.148 × (pre-ECMO mechanical ventilation day) + 1.021 × (immunocompromised status). Compared with the 3 scores, the institutional model had a significantly higher AUROC (0.779; P < 0.001). The 3 published scores provide valuable information about the poor prognostic factors for adult respiratory ECMO. Among the score parameters, duration of mechanical ventilation, immunocompromised status, and severity of organ dysfunction may be the most important prognostic factors of VV-ECMO used for adult respiratory failure.
What is ECMO in GIH?
Introduction: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is associated with gastrointestinal haemorrhage (GIH), which may result from coagulo- pathy, systemic inflammation, reduced gastric perfusion, and arteriovenous malformation from non-pulsatile blood flow. Data are limited regarding the burden of this complication in the United States. Material and methods: We analysed the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database for the years 2007 to 2011 to identify hospitalisations in which an ECMO procedure was performed. Hospitalizations complicated by GIH in this cohort were then identified by relevant codes. Results: Between 2007 and 2011, ECMO hospitalisations increased from 1869 to 3799 (p < 0.01). The proportion of hospitalisations complicated by GIH in- creased from 2.12% in 2007 to 7.46% in 2011 (p < 0.01). Gastrointestinal hae- morrhage was more common in men (56.7%) and in Caucasians (57.4%). Com- mon comorbidities in this population were renal failure (71%), anaemia (55%), and hypertension (26%). All-cause inpatient mortality showed a numerical but nonsignificant increase from 56.7% to 61.9% (p = 0.49). The average cost of care per hospitalisation with GIH associated with ECMO use increased from $132,420 in 2007 to $215,673 in 2011 (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Gastrointestinal haemorrhage during ECMO hospitalisations occurred in small but significantly increasing proportions. The inpatient mortality rate and costs associated with GIH were substantial and increased significantly during the study period.
What is an ECMO machine?
An ECMO machine helps transfer blood from a patient's vein outside the body, before removing carbon dioxide, saturating it with oxygen, before returning it to the body. An ECMO machine. | Photo Credit: iStock Images.
How does an ECMO machine work?
An ECMO machine helps transfer blood from a patient's vein outside the body, before removing carbon dioxide, saturating it with oxygen, before returning it to the body. Surgical teams introduce plastic tubes into the veins (or arteries) in a patient's chest, neck, legs or groin.
When was ECMO invented?
Originally conceived in the 1960s as a means to support newborn children with respiratory distress syndrome or heart-related conditions, ECMO, in recent years, has become more widely used by adults as well. The principle at the heart of the procedure is fairly straightforward. An ECMO machine helps transfer blood from a patient's vein outside ...
Can ECMO cause renal failure?
What's more, ECMO patients need to be constantly monitored since sometimes, someone on ECMO may not receive enough blood flow to their kidneys resulting in acute renal failure.
