• Michael D McDonald, Krzysztof Laudanski, William J Vernick, Abhishek Bhardawaj, Emily Mackay, and Jacob T Gutsche.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA.
• J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. 2019 Jul 1; 33 (7): 1865-1870.

ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were as follows: (1) to describe a successful design for a mobile lung rescue program, focusing on challenges and resources required to support such a program, and (2) report short-term outcomes for patients placed on venovenous extracorporeal life support (VV-ECLS) by a transferring team before inter-facility transport to a specialized extracorporeal life support (ECLS) center.DesignThis retrospective review and analysis used patient chart review to collect outcomes data and resource demand.SettingA single institutional experience in an academic center in the United States.ParticipantsPatient selection targeted the 75 patients who were placed on VV-ECLS for acute respiratory failure at an outside institution by the authors' team before transport from January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2017.InterventionsNo intervention was made.Measurements And Main ResultsAverage time for dispatch and transfer was 4 hours and 10 minutes for ground and 3 hours and 30 minutes for air transport (p = 0.029). Demand was highest in winter, with 61% (46/75) of patients presenting from November through April, and daytime, with 73% (55/75) occurring from 8 am to 8 pm. Demand increased during the study period, with 21 patients in 2015, 24 in 2016, and 30 in 2017. Mortality was low, with 72% of patients surviving to discharge.ConclusionsHerein a successful mobile lung rescue program for transfer to a regional ECLS center is described. These findings demonstrate bed availability during high census and presence of a physician for duration of transport. These challenges can be overcome and successful implementation can be made with low mortality, supporting the development of regional ECLS centers.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

16 keywords...

hide…