Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)
ELSO Guidelines for Patient Care, Respiratory & Cardiac Support, ECMO in COVID-19
View ELSO guidelines for patient care, ELSO centers and training, respiratory support, circulatory/cardiac
support, ECMO in COVID-19, special topics and news. Also find translations for select guidelines.
ELSO Guidelines
Patient Care Practice Guidelines
General Guidelines for all Cases
ELSO Guidelines General v1.4
Equipment, cannulation, safety measures and general management of ECLS patient are discussed within
these guidelines.
Last updated: August 2017
Respiratory Support Guidelines
Circulatory / Cardiac Support
Guidelines for ECMO in COVID-19
ELSO has prepared an in-depth set of guidelines for ECMO in COVID-19 patients. These have been collaboratively
developed by a global team of ECMO experts. The guidelines include: patient selection criteria, cannulation and
decannulation strategies, transport on ECMO, PPE and staff protection strategies with ECMO, to ethical dilemmas
and quality. ELSO wants to recognize the leadership of Kiran Shekar in chairing the development of these
guidelines during a critical time
Special Topic Guidelines
ELSO H1N1 Specific Guidelines
Pre-ECMO through Post-ECMO care of the influenza A(H1N1)-associated ARDS patient are described
herein.
Last updated: May 2015
Center and Training Guidelines
Guideline Translations
Spanish Translations
Japanese Translation
Disclaimer: These guidelines are intended for educational use to build the knowledge of physicians and
other health professionals in assessing the conditions and managing the treatment of patients undergoing
ECLS / ECMO and describe what are believed to be useful and safe practice for extracorporeal life
support (ECLS, ECMO) but these are not necessarily consensus recommendations. The aim of clinical
guidelines are to help clinicians to make informed decisions about their patients. However, adherence to
a guideline does not guarantee a successful outcome. Ultimately, healthcare professionals must make
their own treatment decisions about care on a case-by-case basis, after consultation with their
patients, using their clinical judgement, knowledge and expertise. These guidelines do not take the
place of physicians’ and other health professionals’ judgment in diagnosing and treatment of particular
patients. These guidelines are not intended to and should not be interpreted as setting a standard of
care, or be deemed inclusive of all proper methods of care nor exclusive of other methods of care
reasonably directed to obtaining the same results. The ultimate judgment must be made by the physician
and other health professionals and the patient in light of all the circumstances presented by the
individual patient, and the known variability and biological behavior of the clinical condition. These
guidelines reflects the data at the time the guidelines were prepared; the results of subsequent studies
or other information may cause revisions to the recommendations in these guidelines to be prudent to
reflect new data, but ELSO is under no obligation to provide updates. In no event will ELSO be liable
for any decision made or action taken in reliance upon the information provided through these
guidelines.