Neurodevelopmental outcome in ECMO vs near-miss ECMO patients at 5 years of age

The objective of this study was to compare the outcome of children at 5 yea rs of age who were treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and chose who were critically ill but did not meet ECMO criteria, identifie d as near-miss ECMO, In one of the longest studies of its kind, we compared the neurodevelopmental outcome of 76 5-year-old ECMO-treated children with 20 5-year-old near-miss ECMO patients with similar primary diagnoses. The two groups were compared for demographic data, level of ventilatory support , and degree of hyperventilation. The comprehensive assessment protocol inc luded an assessment of intelligence (Ia), attainment of preacademic and ear ly academic skills, and parents' report of adaptive behavior. Both groups h ad similar demographic data and primary diagnosis. The near-miss ECMO patie nts required increased ventilatory support but not significantly more than the ECMO patients. The cognitive outcome was similar in both groups with me an estimated Full-Scale IQ in the normal range for near-miss and ECMO group s (89 and 97, respectively). Rates of severe mental handicap (FSIQ <70) (ne ar-miss = 11%, ECMO = 12%) and risk for school failure (near-miss = 38%, EC MO = 37%) were also similar. More parents of near-miss ECMO patients report ed immature adaptive skills than did parents of ECMO patients, although the numbers were small in each group. Rates of parent-reported child behavior problems were similar in both groups. ECMO and near-miss ECMO patients have similar cognitive and adaptive outcomes at 5 years of age. A significant n umber in each group are at risk of school failure and should be closely fol lowed up.