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Pediatrics
Concurrent

Pediatric ECMO: A Story That Begins and Ends at the Bedside

Monday, March 23, 2026
3:15 PM - 4:15 PM Central Time
Location: W185

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been a lifesaving support for critically ill pediatric patients for more than 50 years, but complications are frequent, life-altering, and often fatal. Serious neurologic injury, bleeding, and thrombotic complications are more common in children than in ECMO-supported adults, and we are only beginning to recognize and address these disparities in outcomes. This session will describe key community-wide initiatives, including the SCCM-endorsed Core Elements Needed for Trials, Regulation, and Quality of Life (ECMO-CENTRAL) definitions of adverse events to identify short- and long-term epidemiology of ECMO consequences during critical illness, as well as strategies to improve the outcomes of children on ECMO. This session will be patient-centered and multiprofessional and will address pathophysiology, the evidence to date, impact on patients and families, and ECMO technology.

Learning Objectives:

  • Recognize the relevance of consensus adverse event definitions for pediatric ECMO to enhance the potential for data assimilation and comparison among clinical trials, registries, and regulatory processes
  • Explore the long-term organ-specific, functional, and quality-of-life impact of ECMO-associated adverse events on patients and families
  • Appreciate the potential for optimizing bedside care and better use of associated technology to improve outcomes of children supported with ECMO
  • Develop strategies to integrate patient-centered learning into clinical practice to ensure a dynamic, evolving performance improvement process that responds to both collective trends and individual patient stories

Presentations:

  • 3:20 PM - 3:30 PM Central Time
    This Is What ECMO Looked Like for My Child and Family

    Kim Rodriguez, N/A (she/her/hers)

  • 3:30 PM - 3:40 PM Central Time
    Defining and Addressing Adverse Events for Pediatric ECMO to Improve Outcomes

    Peta Alexander, MBBS, FRACP, FCICM – Boston Children's Hospital

  • 3:40 PM - 3:50 PM Central Time
    Can Translational Science and Bioengineering Principles Inform Bedside ECMO Care?

    Owen J. McCarty, PhD (he/him/his)

  • 3:50 PM - 4:00 PM Central Time
    Leveraging Improved Use of Technology to Optimize Pediatric ECMO Care

    Ryan Barbaro, MD, MS – University of Michigan Health System