The clinical experience of emergency medical team-initiated inter-hospital transport on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation / 中华急诊医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To summarize the inter-hospital transport experience on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) led by a team from emergency department.Methods:The clinical data of 21 patients transferred under the support of ECMO between December 2016 and February 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were transferred to the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from other hospitals. Interhospital distance, transport methods, patient demorgraphic characteristics, disease diagnosis, intubation location, intubation method, adverse events during transport and transport outcome were retrieved.Results:Eighteen of the 21 patients were transferred under our mobile ECMO team from outer hospitals to our ECMO intensive care unit. Three patients were cannulated by physicians of outer hospital and transported to our ECMO intensive care unit. All patients were transported by ground ambulance, and the distances varied from 2.5 to 252 km, with an average distance of 112.3±103.2 km. No death occurred during transportation. Adverse events in transport occurred in 6 patients. Of these, the most common were patient-related adverse events..Conclusions:Inter-hospital transport by ECMO in China is currently dominated by ground ambulance.. Experienced mobile ECMO team can safely operate inter-hospital transport supported by ECMO