Extracorporeal lung assist with a single catheter in puppies.

We devised a new veno-venous extracorporeal bypass circuit to be used with an artificial membrane lung for respiratory support in the newborn. A roller pump was activated intermittently when the reservoir filled. Capacitance detectors applied to the reservoir regulated blood flow through a thin-walled venous catheter. Extracorporeal lung assist with this circuit was tested on puppies ventilated with air at a rate of 2 to 4 breath/ min. At a mean blood flow rate of 37.2 +/- 12.1 ml/kg min, PaO2 and PaCO2 were maintained in the normal range. Veno-venous extracorporeal lung assist with a single venous catheter may well become an excellent means of neonatal respiratory support in the future.