Adult ECMO in the En Route Care Environment: Overview and Practical Considerations of Managing ECMO Patients During Transport

Purpose of review: The authors' experience as a part of the U.S. Military ECMO program to include the challenges and successes learned from over 200 transports via ground and air is key to the expertise provided to this article. We review the topic of ECMO transport from a historical context in addition to current capabilities and significant developments in transport logistics, special patient populations, complications, and our own observations and approaches to include team complement and feasibility.

Recent findings: ECMO has become an increasingly used resource during the last couple of decades with considerable increase during the Influenza pandemic of 2009 and the current COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to a corresponding increase in the air and ground transport of ECMO patients.

Summary: As centralized ECMO resources become available at health care centers, the need for safe and effective transport of patients on ECMO presents an opportunity for ongoing evaluation and development of safe practices.