Hemofilter Life Span, ECLS And/or CRRT

Hemofilter Life Span and Filtration of Inflammatory Markers in Patients Receiving Extracorporeal Life Support And/or Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy

The goal of this project to better understand the immune-modulatory effects of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) in neonatal and pediatric patients, particularly those receiving extracorporeal life support (ECLS). Little is known about the effects of CRRT in this particular population and improved knowledge will be useful clinically and may lead to novel therapeutic approaches and improved outcomes for these critically ill patients.

Via collection of serum and ultrafiltrate samples, the invesitgators will examine how hemofilter lifespan alters the filtration of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Neonatal or pediatric patients receiving ECLS (>2 kilograms and >34 weeks gestation)
• CRRT utilized during ECLS course
• For the secondary endpoints comparing CRRT-mediated cytokine filtration in patients receiving ECLS with concurrent CRRT to patients receiving CRRT alone (no ECLS), the investigators will also enroll neonatal and pediatric patients receiving CRRT alone (no ECLS). Patients will be eligible for entry into this study if they meet all of the following criteria:
• Neonatal or pediatric patients receiving CRRT

Exclusion criteria:

-Those patients with inability or unwillingness of legal guardian/representative to give informed consent