Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Pediatric Cardiac Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Survivors With Central Cannulation.

Doctors looked at kids who lived after heart surgery on ECMO. ECMO is a machine that breathes and pumps blood for you.

They wrote down how many kids later had motor, thinking, or other delays. They also checked if longer ECMO time or younger age made delays worse.

Most kids had delays. Eight out of every ten had some developmental delay. Six out of ten had trouble moving. Seven out of ten had trouble thinking.

Surprisingly, kids who were on ECMO longer did not do worse. Babies put on ECMO at younger ages did not do worse either.

Tsai et al. (2014) saw that very small babies on ventilators for more than two weeks had higher cerebral-palsy risk. Saritas did not find that longer machine time hurt kids. The difference is the machine: ventilator vs ECMO.

Horovitz et al. (2011) showed that toddlers with global delay walk later than those with only seizures or prematurity. Saritas adds cardiac-ECMO survivors to the list of kids who will likely need early motor help.

Wang et al. (2022) used brain-stem tests to spot future ASD. Saritas used simple bedside notes. Both push for early checks so therapy can start sooner.

If you work with infants after heart surgery, expect delays even if ECMO lasted only a few days. Start physical, occupational, and speech referrals before discharge. Track milestones every few months. Early services can change the child’s long-term path.