3.2 ECMO duration
Our findings are consistent with the results reported in the literature on ECMO support after cardiac surgery [14]: Compared with the survivors, ECMO duration were significantly longer in non-survivals (p=0.046). ECMO duration is directly linked to the other complications and survival rate. The ELSO data analysis also showed that[15]: The highest survival rate for the ECMO weaning is at the fourth day, and the shorter ECMO duration resulted in higher mortality due to inadequate support. In the group of neonates assisted for 4-12 days, the survival rate decreased gradually with the longer duration, especially in children with assist time > 7 days [13]. Long-term assistance means poor recovery of heart function, especially in neonates after cardiac surgery. If accompanied with serious complications, ECMO couldn’t successfully wean off in short term, long-term assist devices or transition to heart transplantation should be considered[16]. In this group, there were 8 children with assist time of 1-3 days and 5 survived, 9 cases assisted for 3-5 days and 7 cases discharged; however, 6 patients assisted for more than 5 days all died (P=0.01). Our results were close to the ELSO statistics, indicating that ECMO duration was one of the main factors affecting survival.