A well-known complication of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) is differential hypoxia, in which poorly-oxygenated blood ejected from the left ventricle mixes with and displaces well-oxygenated blood from the circuit, thereby causing cerebral hypoxia and ischemia. We sought to characterize the impact of patient size and anatomy on cerebral perfusion under a range of different VA ECMO flow conditions.

We use one-dimensional (1D) flow simulations to investigate mixing zone location and cerebral perfusion across 10 different levels of VA ECMO support in eight semi-idealized patient geometries, for a total of 80 scenarios. Measured outcomes included mixing zone location and cerebral blood flow (CBF).

Depending on patient anatomy, we found that a VA ECMO support ranging between 67-97% of a patient’s ideal cardiac output was needed to perfuse the brain. In some cases, VA ECMO flows exceeding 90% of the patient’s ideal cardiac output are needed for adequate cerebral perfusion.

Individual patient anatomy markedly affects mixing zone location and cerebral perfusion in VA ECMO. Future fluid simulations of VA ECMO physiology should incorporate varied patient sizes and geometries in order to best provide insights toward reducing neurologic injury and improved outcomes in this patient population.