“Awake” Cannulation of Patients for Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: An Analysis of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry
This study analyzed the outcomes of “awake” cannulation, where patients remain breathing spontaneously during venovenous ECMO cannulation, using data from over 28,000 patients. Only 2.8% underwent awake cannulation, which was associated with similar survival rates to mechanical ventilation cannulation after propensity score matching. Awake cannulation, increasingly utilized over time, shows potential for reducing ventilator-related lung injury but requires further research to identify optimal patient cohorts.