CRITICAL CARE

Sweep Gas Flow Titration

Aug 22, 2023 by in CRITICAL CARE Comments Off on Sweep Gas Flow Titration

Adjustments to sweep gas flow are probably the most common adjustments that you will make in the course of an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) run. While it is entirely feasible…

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Blood Flow Titration

Aug 22, 2023 by in CRITICAL CARE Comments Off on Blood Flow Titration

Imagine that you are initiating a patient on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The cannulas are in excellent position and the circuit is connected and ready to go. You release the…

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Central Veno-Arterial ECMO Physiology

Aug 22, 2023 by in CRITICAL CARE Comments Off on Central Veno-Arterial ECMO Physiology

We will now continue our exploration of VA ECMO physiology by considering the physiology of centrally cannulated VA ECMO. The proportion of central cannulation is largely facility dependent. While some…

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ECMO Configurations

Aug 22, 2023 by in CRITICAL CARE Comments Off on ECMO Configurations

Let’s now continue our exploration of the fundamentals of extracorporeal membrane ­oxygenation (ECMO) support by discussing cannulation configurations. To remind ourselves, the basic ­function of the ECMO circuit is to…

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Physiology of Retrograde Flow

Aug 22, 2023 by in CRITICAL CARE Comments Off on Physiology of Retrograde Flow

There is nothing intuitive about retrograde flow. You are pumping blood in one direction into the arterial system, which is the opposite direction that blood is supposed to flow. At…

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Blood Flow Dynamics

Aug 22, 2023 by in CRITICAL CARE Comments Off on Blood Flow Dynamics

We are now going to continue our journey by exploring the physiology of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. You may find the chapters to follow to be the cornerstone of…

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Veno-Arterial ECMO Physiology

Aug 22, 2023 by in CRITICAL CARE Comments Off on Veno-Arterial ECMO Physiology

Let’s now move our discussion to the physiology of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO). As you will come to appreciate, VA ECMO is a very different type of support…

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Membrane Characteristics

Aug 22, 2023 by in CRITICAL CARE Comments Off on Membrane Characteristics

Let’s now turn our attention to the membrane itself. We will explore the function of the membrane oxygenator, its limits, and how we can appraise and assess this function at…

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