Objective: To evaluate the effects of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) on mortality in adult patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
Methods: Literature concerning randomized controlled trials (RCTs), case-control studies and prospective cohort studies from January 1966 to July 2011 on ECMO for the treatment of ARDS patients was retrieved by electronic and manual search. Meta-analysis of the use of ECMO in the treatment of ARDS patients was conducted using the methods recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration's software RevMan 5.0.
Results: Three papers reporting RCTs and 6 papers concerning observational cohort studies of using ECMO in patients with severe ARDS were enrolled for analysis. Meta-analysis of the 3 RCTs (310 patients, 159 of them treated with ECMO) revealed ECMO did not decrease the mortality of ARDS patients [odds ratio (OR)=0.75, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 0.45-1.24, P = 0.27]. Meta-analysis of the all 9 studies (1058 patients, 386 of them treated with ECMO) revealed ECMO increased the mortality of ARDS patients (OR=1.58, 95%CI 0.94-2.67, P = 0.08).
Conclusion: There is no evidence to prove that ECMO is beneficial in adult patients with ARDS, therefore further investigation with a large sample of high quality RCT is warranted.