Fig. 3

Time course of LDH and Central venous saturation during V-A ECMO. Animals were ventilated with inspiratory oxygen fraction of 0.5 (group A), 0.21 (group B) or 0 (group C). Blood was withdrawn for analysis at baseline and every 30 min after commencing the V-A ECMO. While the LDH (A) was continuously rising in all group, no differences were analyzed between the groups. Anoxic ventilation was associated with a significant decrease of the central venous saturation. Results are presented as median with interquartile range. Asterisks and rhombus display the degree of statistical significance: A vs. C: ***p < 0.001; B vs. C: ^###p < 0.001. Abbreviations: F_iO₂: inspiratory oxygen fraction; LDH: lactate dehydrogenase