Renal Replacement Therapy for Patients Requiring ECMO Support

Abstract

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is an advanced mode of support for critically ill patients with life-threatening respiratory and/or cardiovascular failure who have failed conventional management. It is a temporary support most commonly implemented as a bridge to organ function recovery or definitive intervention (e.g., congenital heart defect repair, ventricular assistant device implantation, or heart or lung transplant). Patients who require ECMO are at high risk of developing multi-organ failure (MOF) including acute kidney injury. Renal replacement therapies are commonly used as a concomitant treatment with ECMO support to provide renal replacement and fluid management.