Nutritional Support in Postcardiotomy Shock Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Patients: A Prospective, Observational Study

Despite the 6000 patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) annually, there is a paucity of data regarding the nutritional management of these patients. We performed a prospective, observational study of nutrition in postcardiotomy shock patients at our institution. Over a 3.5-year study period, we identified 50 ECMO patients and 225 non-ECMO patients. We identified type, amount, duration, and disruption of nutritional delivery by cohort. The primary outcome was percent of caloric goal met, and secondary outcome was gastrointestinal complications. ECMO patients met less of their caloric (29% versus 40%, P = 0.017) and protein goals (34% versus 55%, P