Full-Course ECMO Strategy for Moderate-to-Severe ARDS

Summary

China faces major challenges in the ECMO management of patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS, including substantial heterogeneity in clinical practice, low weaning success rates, and high complication rates. A key underlying reason is the lack of a standardized full-course management pathway that is applicable to real-world clinical practice in China. This study focuses on the construction and evidence-based evaluation of a precision full-course ECMO management pathway for patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS, aiming to address fragmented care processes and delayed quality improvement.

The study includes three main components. First, multidisciplinary consensus and evidence-based findings will be integrated to develop a standardized management pathway covering the full chain of assessment, initiation, maintenance, weaning, and rehabilitation. Second, a nationwide multicenter real-world study with a before-and-after design will be conducted to systematically evaluate the clinical effectiveness of this pathway in reducing mortality and complications and improving patient outcomes. Third, a closed-loop dynamic optimization system based on "pathway-data-feedback-improvement" will be established. With the support of an intelligent data platform and multidisciplinary review mechanisms, the pathway will be continuously updated and refined.

Through this study, a reproducible, traceable, and evaluable full-course ECMO management strategy is expected to be established. The study will also build a national collaborative research network and support the development of living clinical guidance, promoting the transition of ECMO care in China from experience-based practice toward standardized, homogeneous, and intelligent management, and providing a key technical framework and practical model for improving critical care.

Conditions

• Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Interventions

OTHER

Full-Course ECMO Management Pathway

The intervention is a standardized full-course ECMO management pathway for patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS. The pathway covers assessment of ECMO indications, ECMO initiation, cannulation and anticoagulation strategies, mechanical ventilation management, hemodynamic and fluid management, infection prevention, analgesia and sedation, nutrition and rehabilitation, complication prevention and management, weaning assessment, discharge, and follow-up. Individualized adjustments are allowed according to patient condition, and pathway deviations will be recorded for quality improvement and subsequent analysis.

OTHER

Usual Care

Usual care refers to ECMO management provided before implementation of the standardized full-course ECMO management pathway. Clinical decisions are made according to local practice and clinician judgment at each participating center.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Southeast University, China

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SEQUENTIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-06-16

Primary Completion

2030-02-28

Completion

2030-02-28

Countries

• China

Study Locations