ECLS and sonography in the paediatric ICU

Abstract

Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) or sometimes referred to as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a method of supporting a patient's lungs, or heart and lungs together, called veno-venous and veno-arterial respectively. In the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), ECLS is employed in critically ill children whose lungs and/or heart are unable to perform adequately owing to illness, injury or planned surgery. ECLS can be utilised in neonates to adults and requires careful planning and monitoring while in use. Ultrasound plays an important role in ECLS, traditionally with echocardiography, and increasingly so with general/vascular sonography. This presentation will describe the various applications of general ultrasound in the paediatric intensive care unit ECLS patient and detail a current pilot study that aims to examine the efficacy of ultrasound as a measure of neurological and renal health in these very sick children.L6165559722017-06-06 <br />