Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Research Paper

This paper will explain the process of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), its original intended purpose, new advancements in the process, and complications post ECMO. It will also examine the origin of the process and how it differs from other types of life support. The professional nurse takes ownership in the well being and safety of the client, and as such has a responsibility to become well informed in the processes, equipment, and technologies that make it possible for the client to strive. The client is always the priority and safe nursing is the measure in which the nurse aids a client through the recovery process. Patient monitoring continues to be even more critical when the bodies own processes are being intervened and replaced
In 1944, Dr. Willem Kolff was credited for being the first to notice that oxygen could be picked up by the blood through a cellophane membrane in an artificial kidney. Dr. Clowes developed the first membrane oxygenation system in 1956. Advancement of the technology progressed rapidly over the years. The technology was targeted at children; however, it is being used on adults as well. The general principle at work is that the blood is shunted away from the body, carbon dioxide is removed and replaced by oxygen, and then the blood is returned to circulation by mechanical process. This may seem to be like a heart/lung machine, and in many ways, it is. However, the purpose of ECMO is to provide extended use until other health caries can be
One study implied that the quality of life for a child, five years after ECMO treatment, was less than that of average children without health caries. It also indicated that quality of life was like those who had implanted pacemaker defibrillators or even those with Fontan physiology. (Toussaint, et al., 2016) Fontan circulation is a circuit of blood flow that is surgically created for clients with a single ventricle. Considering that one ventricle is doing the work of two and that the pulmonary circuit is functioning in a passive manner it is understood that quality of life for this client is greatly affected. Comparatively, the client that was maintained with ECMO was done so until appropriate measures could be taken to improve life rather than to postpone