Fig. 1

A Schematic representation of ECMO flow and cardiac output. Red indicates V-V ECMO flow, and blue indicates cardiac output. For illustrative purposes, recirculation is neglected; a Patient with ARDS and V-V ECMO support. The Q_ECMO/CO ratio is 0.67, with saturation at 100%. DO₂ is 500 ml/min. b The same patient with increased oxygen demand, for example, due to infection and fever. Q_ECMO remains the same while CO is increased. This results in a ratio of 0.40, saturation of 85%, but a significantly increased DO₂ of 850 ml/min. c Patient with increased oxygen demand treated with beta-blocker. The higher Q_ECMO/CO ratio improved arterial oxygen saturation, but the DO₂ drops to 665 ml/min. B Displays three ARDS patients undergoing V-V ECMO therapy, in whom beta-blockers were titrated based on their effects. The measurements were taken three times each after reaching a steady state