Although the utilization of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasing and its technology is evolving, only a few epidemiologic reports have described the uses and outcomes of ECMO. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in utilization and survival rate in patients supported with ECMO for severe respiratory failure in Korea. This was a multicenter study on consecutive patients who underwent ECMO across 16 hospitals in Korea. The records of all patients who required ECMO for acute respiratory failure between 2012 and 2015 were retrospectively reviewed, and the utilization of ECMO was analyzed over time. During the study period, 5552 patients received ECMO in Korea as a whole, and a total of 2472 patients received ECMO at the participating 16 hospitals. We analyzed 487 (19.7%) patients who received ECMO for respiratory failure. The number of ECMO procedures provided for respiratory failure increased from 104 to 153 during the study period. The in-hospital survival rate increased from 30.8% to 35.9%. The use of prone positioning increased from 6.8% to 49.0% (p < 0.001), and the use of neuromuscular blockers also increased from 28.2% to 58.2% (p < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed that old age (OR 1.038 (95% CI 1.022, 1.054)), use of corticosteroid (OR 2.251 (95% CI 1.153, 4.397)), continuous renal replacement therapy (OR 2.196 (95% CI 1.135, 4.247)), driving pressure (OR 1.072 (95% CI 1.031, 1.114)), and prolonged ECMO duration (OR 1.020 (95% CI 1.003, 1.038)) were associated with increased odds of mortality. Utilization of ECMO and survival rates of patients who received ECMO for respiratory failure increased over time in Korea. The use of pre-ECMO prone positioning and neuromuscular blockers also increased during the same period.

Recent trials showed that video laryngoscopy (VL) did not yield higher first-attempt tracheal intubation success rate than direct laryngoscopy (DL) and was associated with higher rates of complications. Tracheal intubation can be more challenging in the general ward than in the intensive care unit. This study aimed to investigate which laryngoscopy mode is associated with higher first-attempt intubation success in a general ward. This is a retrospective study of tracheal intubations conducted at a tertiary academic hospital. This analysis included all intubations performed by the medical emergency team in the general ward during a 48-month period. For the 958 included patients, the initial laryngoscopy mode was video laryngoscopy in 493 (52%) and direct laryngoscopy in 465 patients (48%). The overall first-attempt success rate was 69% (664 patients). The first-attempt success rate was higher with VL (79%; 391/493) than with DL (59%; 273/465, p < 0.001). The first-attempt intubation success rate was higher among experienced operators (83%; 266/319) than among inexperienced operators (62%; 398/639, p < 0.001). In multivariate logistic regression analyses, VL, pre-intubation heart rate, pre-intubation SpO2 > 80%, a non-predicted difficult airway, experienced operator, and Cormack–Lehane grade were associated with first-attempt intubation success in the general ward. Over all intubation-related complications were not different between two groups (27% for VL vs. 25% for DL). However, incidence of a post-intubation SpO2 < 80% was higher with VL than with DL (4% vs. 1%, p = 0.005), and in-hospital mortality was also higher (53.8% vs. 43%, p = 0.001). In a general ward setting, the first-attempt intubation success rate was higher with video laryngoscopy than with direct laryngoscopy. However, video laryngoscopy did not reduce intubation-related complications. Furthers trials on best way to perform intubation in the emergency settings are required.