Mobile pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: 10 years to rescue children in the southeast of France

Background Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has become a gold standard in treatment of severe refractory circulatory and/or pulmonary failure. The aim of this work is to give key points for pediatric mobile ECMO team implementation and to demonstrate its safety and feasibility, even in a middle size pediatric cardiac surgery reference center. Methods This is a retrospective analysis of our series of patients initiated on ECMO in a peripheral center and transferred to our center was conducted. Our data were collected from 10 consecutive years: from 2006 to 2016. Results Fifty-seven pediatric patients were cannulated in peripheral center and transported on ECMO. Forty-two patients (73,7%) were weaned from ECMO. We did not experience any adverse event during transport. Up to 40% of our population were neonates (age  Conclusion Offsite ECMO Implantation and transport of pediatric patients on ECMO can be safe, when performed by a dedicated and experienced team.