The implementation of extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) as one of the extracorporeal life support system is getting more attention today. Thus, the objectives of this paper are to study the clinical practice of commercial ECCO2R system, current trend of its development and also the perspective on future improvement that can be done to the existing ECCO2R system. The strength of this article lies in its review scope, which focuses on the commercial ECCO2R therapy in the market based on membrane lung and current investigation to improve the efficiency of the ECCO2R system, in terms of surface modification by carbonic anhydrase (CA) immobilization technique and respiratory electrodialysis (R-ED). Our methodology approach involves the identification of relevant published literature from PubMed and Web of Sciences search engine using the terms Extracorporeal Carbon Dioxide Removal (ECCO2R), Extracorporeal life support, by combining terms between ECCO2R and CA and also ECCO2R with R-ED. This identification only limits articles in English language. Overall, several commercial ECCO2R systems are known and proven safe to be used in patients in terms of efficiency, safety and risk of complication. In addition, CA-modified hollow fiber for membrane lung and R-ED are proven to have good potential to be applied in conventional ECCO2R design. The detailed technique and current progress on CA immobilization and R-ED development were also reviewed in this article.
INTRODUCTION: One major challenge to achieving optimal patient outcome in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is the development of effective dosing strategies in this critically ill patient population. Suboptimal drug dosing impacts on patient outcome as patients on ECMO often require reversal of the underlying pathology with effective pharmacotherapy in order to be liberated of the life-support device. Areas covered: This article provides a concise review of the effective use of antibiotics, analgesics, and sedative by characterizing the specific changes in PK secondary to the introduction of the ECMO support. We also discuss the barriers to achieving optimal pharmacotherapy in patients on ECMO and also the current and potential research that can be undertaken to address these clinical challenges. Expert opinion: Decreased bioavailability due to sequestration of drugs in the ECMO circuit and ECMO induced PK alterations are both significant barriers to optimal drug dosing. Evidence-based drug choices may minimize sequestration in the circuit and would enable safety and efficacy to be maintained. More work to characterize ECMO related pharmacodynamic alterations such as effects of ECMO on hepatic cytochrome system are still needed. Novel techniques to increase target site concentrations should also be explored.