Morbidity of Conversion from Veno-venous to Veno-arterial ECMO in Neonates with Meconium Aspiration or Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension

Retrospective review of the Extracorporeal Life Support Registry from 2007 - 2017 of a subset of neonates with a primary diagnosis of meconium aspiration syndrome or primary pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. We examined the impact of converting from venovenous to venoarterial ECMO in these patients, and discovered that while such conversion is rare, it is associated with higher mortality and complication rates when compared to propensity-matched patients who remained on a single modality.