Assessment of a patient's functional status prior to undergoing cardiac surgery may be a useful marker for predicting outcomes when postoperative veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A ECMO) is required. In this short communication, we present retrospective data on 83 patients at a single center who required V-A ECMO after cardiac surgery. Our results did not show a statistically significant association between premorbid functional status and mortality, though age was predictive of mortality. Future studies should explore other markers of functional status and relationships with additional outcomes.
Keywords: Cardiac assist and artificial heart; ECMO; cardiac surgery; cardiogenic shock; functional status.