Background
ill
SCHWARTZ
Patients on ECMO are severely ill patients. In literature, mortality data differ depending on ECMO mode and reason for therapy. According to the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) registry, the survival rate to discharge in adults is 49% (pulmonary 58%, cardiac 45%, ECPR 30%) [The presence of NRBCs in the peripheral blood has been described as being associated with mortality in several different populations of patients. Schwartz et al. already described significant correlation between occurrence of NRBCs in peripheral blood and increased mortality back in the 1950’s [In 2021, Piggot et al. first demonstrated that NRBCs in neonates and children < 1 year of age treated with VA—ECMO are a useful marker for mortality [The aim of our study was to investigate the occurrence and levels of NRBCs in cardiothoracic patients on ECMO in terms of their prognostic significance regarding patient mortality.