Indications of extracorporeal life support in poly-trauma.

Major trauma is a leading cause of death, particularly among young patients. New strategies in management are needed to improve poor outcome of severe trauma. Conventional therapies for post-traumatic cardiovascular shock and acute pulmonary failure may sometimes be insufficient and even dangerous.1,2 New approaches in trauma care and advanced treatments are needed to modify the actual therapeutic strategy and treatment protocols. Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) has proven to be effective in acute cardiopulmonary failure of different aetiologies, in particular when conventional therapies fail.