Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)
ELSO Guidelines for Patient Care, Respiratory & Cardiac Support, ECMO in COVID-19
View ELSO guidelines for patient care, ELSO centers and training, respiratory support, circulatory/cardiac support, ECMO in COVID-19, special topics and news. Also find translations for select guidelines.
To submit an idea for a future ELSO guideline, please download this form, complete it, and email it to guidelines@elso.org
ELSO Guidelines
Patient Care Practice Guidelines
General Guidelines for all Cases
ELSO Guidelines General v1.4
Equipment, cannulation, safety measures and general management of ECLS patient are discussed within these guidelines.Last updated: August 2017
Respiratory Support Guidelines
Circulatory / Cardiac Support
Guidelines for ECMO in COVID-19
ELSO has prepared an in-depth set of guidelines for ECMO in COVID-19 patients. These have been collaboratively developed by a global team of ECMO experts. The guidelines include: patient selection criteria, cannulation and decannulation strategies, transport on ECMO, PPE and staff protection strategies with ECMO, to ethical dilemmas and quality. ELSO wants to recognize the leadership of Kiran Shekar in chairing the development of these guidelines during a critical time
Special Topic Guidelines
ELSO H1N1 Specific Guidelines
Pre-ECMO through Post-ECMO care of the influenza A(H1N1)-associated ARDS patient are described herein.
Last updated: November 2009
Center and Training Guidelines
Position Papers
Guideline Translations
Spanish Translations
Japanese Translation
Korean Translation
Disclaimer: These guidelines are intended for educational use to build the knowledge of physicians and other health professionals in assessing the conditions and managing the treatment of patients undergoing ECLS / ECMO and describe what are believed to be useful and safe practice for extracorporeal life support (ECLS, ECMO) but these are not necessarily consensus recommendations. The aim of clinical guidelines are to help clinicians to make informed decisions about their patients. However, adherence to a guideline does not guarantee a successful outcome. Ultimately, healthcare professionals must make their own treatment decisions about care on a case-by-case basis, after consultation with their patients, using their clinical judgement, knowledge and expertise. These guidelines do not take the place of physicians’ and other health professionals’ judgment in diagnosing and treatment of particular patients. These guidelines are not intended to and should not be interpreted as setting a standard of care, or be deemed inclusive of all proper methods of care nor exclusive of other methods of care reasonably directed to obtaining the same results. The ultimate judgment must be made by the physician and other health professionals and the patient in light of all the circumstances presented by the individual patient, and the known variability and biological behavior of the clinical condition. These guidelines reflects the data at the time the guidelines were prepared; the results of subsequent studies or other information may cause revisions to the recommendations in these guidelines to be prudent to reflect new data, but ELSO is under no obligation to provide updates. In no event will ELSO be liable for any decision made or action taken in reliance upon the information provided through these guidelines.