Sterility and oxygenator function in pre-primed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: A prospective clinical study.

Wet pre-priming of ECMO circuits for up to 57 days did not affect oxygenator function. The low incidence of bacterial growth (1.9 %) suggests that pre-primed ECMO generally maintain sterility and can facilitate rapid ECPR initiation. However, bacterial growth highlights the need for caution in non-urgent cases. Culturing the circuit at initiation can mitigate this risk.