Preliminary report: extracorporeal lung support for neonatal acute respiratory failure.

A technique for ventilatory support of life-threatening neonatal acute respiratory failure by use of apnoeic oxygenation and low-frequency positive-pressure ventilation, with extracorporeal membrane CO2 removal through a single-cannula perfusion circuit, is described. 20 severely ill babies with respiratory failure were treated with this technique, 17 of whom survived with no clinical evidence of pulmonary handicap or neurological deficit at discharge from hospital. All 10 patients followed up at 6 months showed normal growth and development.