Predicting Survival after Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Failure. The Respiratory Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Survival Prediction (RESP) Score

To create a model for predicting hospital survival at initiation of ECMO for respiratory failure.

Adult patients with severe acute respiratory failure treated by ECMO from 2000 to 2012 were extracted from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) international registry. Multivariable logistic regression was used to create the Respiratory ECMO Survival Prediction (RESP) score using bootstrapping methodology with internal and external validation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of the 2,355 patients included in the study, 1,338 patients (57%) were discharged alive from hospital. The RESP score was developed using pre-ECMO variables independently associated with hospital survival on logistic regression, which included age, immunocompromised status, duration of mechanical ventilation before ECMO, diagnosis, central nervous system dysfunction, acute associated nonpulmonary infection, neuromuscular blockade agents or nitric oxide use, bicarbonate infusion, cardiac arrest, PaCO2, and peak inspiratory pressure. The receiver operating characteristics curve analysis of the RESP score was c = 0.74 (95% confidence interval, 0.72-0.76). External validation, performed on 140 patients, exhibited excellent discrimination (c = 0.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.89-0.97).