Mechanical circulatory support for infants and small children.

The number of children in need of mechanical circulatory support has increased substantially over the last two decades, due to the technological progress made in surgery and intensive care, leading to improved survival of patients with congenital heart disease. In addition, primary myocardial dysfunction related to myocarditis or dilated cardiomyopathy may cause end-stage cardiac failure in children or infants, although not as frequently as in adults. The need for mechanical circulatory support may be either temporary until spontaneous myocardial recovery, as in postcardiotomy cardiac failure, or prolonged until heart transplantation in the absence of recovery. Two types of mechanical circulatory devices are suitable for the paediatric population: extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for short-term support; and ventricular assist devices for long-term support as a bridge to transplantation. The aim of this review is to describe the specific issues related to paediatric mechanical circulatory support and the different types of devices available, to report on their rapidly growing use worldwide and on the outcomes for each indication and type of device, and to provide a perspective on the future developments and remaining challenges in this field.