The procedure and methods: In one dozen hospitals, all neonates are tested with the APACHE system. The procedure of the study uses APACHE to test patients during a pre-trial period. Those patients that are deemed eligible for ECMO will receive treatment. Nursing staff will attend to all patients 24 hours per day. At the end of the ECMO treatment intervention, the results are tabulated. Complications and side-effects are noted duly.

Results: The results from the population sample show that a large percentage of neonates requiring ECMO are eligible. When the healthcare institution has appropriate ECMO equipment in house, and the staff needed to operate it, then the patient outcomes are higher for those whose healthcare institutions do not support...

It is not an experimental research design but an exploratory one. It is impossible to have a control group because it would be unethical to assign patients in need of ECMO to a non-ECMO trial condition.
Implications: The implications for the healthcare administrative sector are more significant than that for the clinical nursing sector. Administrators need to budget more for ECMO equipment, training, and staff. The staff already trained in ECMO need to be able to provide 24-hour care to the patients in need, work well with physicians, and maintain open communication with the parents of the patients.