To refer an adult patient to Ghent University Hospital for ECMO treatment, for advice or for an urgent transfer to IC Cardiac Surgery, you can contact an intensivist round the clock on the numbers below.
- On weekdays from 8 am to 6 pm: ECMO intensivist, tel. 09 332 42 00
- After 6 pm and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays: on-call intensivist, tel. 09 332 41 26
Inclusion criteria
VV-ECMO
- Refractory but potentially reversible respiratory failure – severe hypoxaemia and/or hypercapnia – which does not improve with conventional therapies (ventilation and prone positioning)
- PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio < 100 mmHg (13.3 kPa) or SaO₂ < 88%
- pH < 7,15 tijdens beademing, met PEEP ≥ 15 cmH₂O en plateaudruk > 30 cmH₂O
- Uncontrollable air leak
Possible aetiology: pneumonia, ARDS, trauma with severe pulmonary contusion, inhalation injury, drowning, fistula or severe air leak following trauma or lung surgery, status asthmaticus.
VA-ECMO
- Refractory but potentially reversible cardiogenic shock in which conventional therapies are ineffective
- Cardiac arrest in which ROSC does not occur during resuscitation
Possible aetiology: acute myocardial infarction with acute heart failure, intoxication with myocardial depression, myocarditis, peripartum cardiomyopathy, septic cardiomyopathy, failed heart transplant, pulmonary embolism, accidental hypothermia with cardiac arrest, acute heart failure following cardiac surgery.
Monitoring a patient following transfer
To follow up on a transferred patient, please call one of the intensive care specialists.
- Tel. 09 332 42 00
As the referring doctor, you can also access your patient’s medical records online via the Collaborative Care Platform (CoZo).
Multidisciplinary consultation
We regularly discuss patients with complex medical conditions at multidisciplinary consultations. If you have referred such a patient, it is often very useful for you to attend that consultation.
Discharge from hospital
Upon discharge from hospital, we send the discharge letter to the referring doctor by email (if connected to MediBridge) or by post. If the patient is stable enough to be transferred back, we will discuss this with you in advance by telephone.