Spallation performance of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation tubing

During the prolonged roller pump use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), tubing wear generates spallation. The spallation performance of Ty gon(R) S-65-HL was measured and compared with a potential new ECMO tubing, LVA (Portex 800-500-575). Spallation was measured by on-line laser diode pa rticle counting (HIAC) during simulated ECMO. The effects of differing leve ls of occlusion and pump speed were examined, as was the effect of spallati on over time. The spallation produced by Tygon S-65-HL was less than that s een with LVA during 24 h of simulated ECMO (p < 0.001), and after 72 h had fallen almost to zero. Spallation with Tygon tubing increases with increasi ng pump speed and decreases over time. There appears to be only a weak corr elation with occlusion, which is surprising. The spallation performance of Tygon S-65-HL was variable and under some conditions exceeded that of LVA. Overall, however Tygon S-65-HL produced less spallation than LVA. Therefore , LVA cannot be recommended for clinical ECMO use.