Severe Thrombocytopenia in Adults with Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Impact of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Use.

The authors, using 2 groups of patients, 32 ECMO and 53 non-ECMO, both with a diagnosis of ARDS, describe the two groups’ severity of illness, medication regimen and use or nonuse of ECMO therapy.  Utilizing adjusted multivariate linear regression model the authors conclude that only the APACHE II score was independently associated with the development of severe thrombocytopenia, but that ECMO use was not.