Initial ELSO Guidance Document ECMO for COVID-19 Patients with Severe Cardiopulmonary Failure

The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) and all of the ELSO worldwide chapters have prepared this document to describe when and how to use extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in COVID-19 patients during this pandemic. It is a consensus guideline intended for experienced ECMO centers. COVID-19 is a disease caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus which appeared in December 2019 and is now a worldwide pandemic. Because it is a new viral disease, this guidance document is based on limited experience and written with the intention to be updated frequently as new information becomes available. A link to the latest version of this document will be found at http://covid19.elso.org .