Pediatric anesthesia & critical care
Body Mass Index and Survival in Children Receiving Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
Authors' conclusion
In this cohort study of children receiving ECMO, 1 in 4 had an abnormal BMI, which was associated with increased hospital mortality.
Study context
- Population
- Children aged 29 days to 18 years receiving their first extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) run, international ECMO centres, Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) database 2019–2023first ECMO run
- Participants
- 8,885 children
- Exposure
- Underweight or obesity vs normal weight
- Normal weightn = 6,443reference
- Underweightn = 1,458
- Obesityn = 984
- Outcome
- Survival to hospital discharge
Methodological detailsregistry (ELSO database), international multicentre
- Registry (ELSO database)
- International multicentre
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Each group vs normal weightOR for hospital mortality (95% CI)P value
Underweight
1.34(1.09–1.66)
P = 0.005Obesity
1.25(1.00–1.56)
P = 0.04- Survival significantly lower with underweight and obesity vs normal weight
- P < 0.001
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Subgroups by age and diagnosis leading to ECMO cannulation (subgroup)
- Pattern persisted across subgroup analyses
Severe obesity (body mass index (BMI) z score >3)
- Not associated with mortality
Original publication
Body Mass Index and Survival in Children Receiving Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. JAMA Netw Open. Published 1 April 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →