2024 Critical Care Congress Skip to main content
2024 Critical Care Congress Main banner
Back
ViewAttendees 105

Pediatrics
One-Hour Concurrent Session

Deus Ex Machina: Decision-Making and Ethics in Pediatric ECMO

Monday, January 22, 2024
3:15 PM – 4:15 PM MT
Location: West-301D
CE: 1.0

There are few decisions with higher stakes than when a clinician decides whether or not to start a patient on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. In these situations, an understanding of the preferences, values, and biases of those involved in the decision (both the patient or family and the care team) are necessary to make the most appropriate decision. In this session, experts in pediatric ECMO and bioethics will explore the decision-making process for ECMO initiation and discontinuation.

Learning Objectives:

  • Apply appropriate ethical principles to the determination of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) candidacy
  • Evaluate personal and institutional approaches toward just delivery of ECMO support
  • Demonstrate a patient-focused shared decision-making conversation in decisions to initiate and discontinue ECMO support

Presentations:

  • Can't Stop, Won't Stop, Have to Stop: Decision-Making in ECMO Discontinuation
  • Decisions on the Edge: Ethical Considerations in Expanding ECMO Indications
  • Equity in ECMO: How Biases May Impact ECMO Decisions