Optimising analgosedation in ECMO (ECMO-SED), version number 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Optimising analgosedation in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) using a co-designed analgosedation protocol
IRAS ID
332457
Contact name
Christopher Remmington
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, n/a
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 3 months, 6 days
Research summary
Sedation (painkillers and sedative medication) treats pain, reduces suffering, and helps patients in intensive care (ICU) receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) remain comfortable. ECMO is a life support machine used in very sick patients with severe heart or lung failure. These patients are younger and generally healthier compared to other critically ill patients. However, patients that survive ECMO have long-term health problems. These include anxiety, memory problems, withdrawal from medicines, and mobility issues. These problems issues could all be related to the type and amount of sedation given.
A sedation protocol is a way of guiding healthcare professionals how much sedation medication is given to patients in ICU. Too much sedation can cause confusion, hallucinations, excessive sleepiness, and longer time in hospital. Too little sedation can cause pain, distress, and longer time in hospital. There are no protocols for giving sedation to ECMO patients in research papers. We know healthcare staff find it difficult to manage sedation, and higher amounts of sedation is given to ECMO patients.
The study will be split into two stages and answer the following questions:
1. What are the current UK practices in sedation management in ECMO centres?
2. Is a co-designed sedation protocol acceptable to ECMO survivors and family and healthcare professionals?National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is funding the study as part of a Doctoral Clinical Academic and Practitioner Fellowship (NIHR304092).
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/YH/0127
Date of REC Opinion
5 Aug 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion