Generating New Evidence to Reduce Major Complications to Improve the Safety and Efficacy of ECMO in Severe Cardiac and Respiratory Failure (RECOMMEND)

The RECOMMEND Platform trial is an investigator initiated, multicentre, open labelled, randomised controlled Platform Trial that will utilise Bayesian adaptive logic to investigate the efficacy and safety of multiple study interventions simultaneously or sequentially in cohorts of adult patients who are receiving ECMO from ICUs participating in the national ECMO registry (EXCEL) in Australian hospitals (EXCEL Registry NCT03793257).

In this platform trial, various interventions will be investigated for their potential to improve outcomes for patients undergoing ECMO.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is an invasive and resource intensive treatment used to support critically ill patients suffering from severe cardiac arrest, cardiac failure or respiratory failure. ECMO provides mechanical circulatory support, temporarily replacing the function of the heart and/or lungs, allowing time for these organs to recover.

Globally, the use of ECMO has increased rapidly over the past decade. It is both invasive and expensive, with the average cost for a single admission in Australia exceeding more than $180,000 and a total annual cost of > $75 million. Despite its high cost, ECMO is associated with a high mortality rate, and many survivors have compromised functional recovery for months or years after discharge from hospital, further adding to the long-terms costs of care.

The main complications reported in the national ECMO registry from 2019-2022 include bleeding (51.4%), renal failure and fluid overload (78.4%), and death and ongoing disability (66%). These were confirmed as research priorities by consumers and end-users. While the use of ECMO increases swiftly, the evidence base to support the growing patient numbers receiving this care has not grown at the same rate, resulting in important evidence gaps.