The Use of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Burns: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Burns are among the leading causes of trauma worldwide, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common cause of death in burn patients. Some patients develop hypoxemia refractory to conventional therapies and may be initiated on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as rescue therapy. We conducted a meta-analysis for studies reporting on survival rates of patients receiving ECMO for burns or inhalation injuries, which was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included the hospital and intensive care unit length of stay and duration of ECMO. Random-effects (DerSimonian and Laird) were conducted. The pooled survival from 10 studies was 53.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 37.6–69.2%, high certainty). Survival was significantly associated with age (regression coefficient [B]: −0.0088, 95% CI: −0.0155 to −0.0021, p = 0.011) and the proportion of male patients (B: −1.0137 95% CI: −1.9695 to −0.0580, p = 0.038). Patients were cannulated on ECMO for a mean of 8.4 days (95% CI: 6.1–10.7) and remained in the ICU for a mean of 40.4 days (95% CI: 11.4–69.3). Mean hospital length of stay was 45.4 days (95% CI: 31.7–59.0). In conclusion, patients with burn and inhalation injuries who develop ARDS refractory to conservative management have a survival rate of 54% when placed on ECMO.