Academic Editor: Antonio Mangieri
Optimal anticoagulation is critical for
successful extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to counterbalance the
activation of the coagulation system initiated by the blood-biosurface reaction
and mechanical stresses. Systemic anticoagulation is achieved mainly with
unfractionated heparin (UFH). Activated clotting time (ACT) is a widely used
laboratory parameter to monitor anticoagulation. The therapeutic range of ACT is
180–220 s. We investigated the effect of a lower target ACT (