National trends in neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To determine trends in neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) utilization from 2002-2011.

STUDY DESIGN: Using the Nationwide inpatient sample (NIS), we conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study to identify ECMO utilization among neonates. Incidence of ECMO utilization, length of stay (LOS), cost and mortality were estimated.

RESULT: In all, 33,367,146 neonates were identified of which 7603 (18 per 100,000 live births) underwent ECMO. Neonatal ECMO increased from 12 to 23 runs per 100,000 live births. Mortality was 48.4%, decreasing from 47.5 to 41.9% between 2002 and 2011. On multivariate analysis, mortality was significantly higher for infectious indications (OR 4.1; CI 1.1-16.0), E-CPR (OR 3.8; CI 1.4-10.7) and cardiac indications (OR 2.0; CI 1.5-2.8). On hierarchical regression, LOS increased by 1.6 days each year (p = 0.02) and cost of hospitalization increased by $14,033 each year (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION: Neonatal ECMO utilization increased, while mortality decreased during the study period. These findings suggest an improvement in neonatal ECMO care.