Transport of newborns with acute lung failure in the pre-ECMO situation and on ECMO

Background: Although ventilation and postpartal management of sick newborns has been optimized, ECMO remains a therapeutic option in the neonatal intensive care of acute lung failure. The ECMO-center Mannheim has performed about 250 ECMO cases since 1987, and currently performs about 25 ECMOs per year. 50 infants per year are evaluated for the option of ECMO therapy. Half of them are born at the center and the others are transported to the ECMO center. Some children are too ill for conventional transport, in which case transport using iNO, HFOV or mobile ECMO is necessary. In some countries special transport tea…