AbstractPurposeThere is increasing evidence that use of ECMO is beneficial in major trauma patients with refractory organ failure. Hence, increased numbers of ECMO support following major trauma are reported. We set out to determine the use of ECMO among major trauma patients submitted to the TraumaRegister DGUr® as well as patient features associated with ECMO support.MethodsThe TraumaRegister DGU® is a multinational database compiling trauma related health care data from point-of-injury, initial and critical care to outcome. Major trauma cases (AIS ≥ 3 irrespective of injury location) with subsequent critical care as well as respiratory and/or circulatory failure (SOFA score ≥ 3 per respective category) enrolled in the TraumaRegister DGU® between 2015 and 2022 were reviewed. A logistic regression model was carried out to evaluate patient features associated with ECMO support.Results410/ 22,548 individuals (1.8%) received ECMO support. Survival among ECMO patients was 46.1%. At discharge, good functional outcome as indicated by a Glasgow outcome scale > 3 was observed for 97 ECMO patients (23.6%). Age > 65 (OR 95%-CI 1.90, 1.52–2.60), male sex (OR 1.49, 95%-CI 1.41–1.95), coagulopathy at admission to the emergency department (OR 2.37, 95%-CI 1.88-3.00), chest trauma (OR 2.12, 95%-CI 1.61–2.81), sepsis (OR 2.94, 95%-CI 1.93–2.97), as well as massive transfusion (OR 2.23, 95%-CI1.56-3.19) were associated with the use of ECMO following trauma.ConclusionIn the TraumaRegister DGU®, ECMO for trauma related organ failure remains rare. Among ECMO patients, good functional outcome was observed infrequently. However, the design of the registry did not allow for capturing granular data on ECMO management and timing of organ failure. Hence, outcome data should be interpreted with caution. Nevertheless, evaluation of factors associated with ECMO support after trauma might contribute to early identification of ECMO candidates and improve patient distribution for trauma centers without ECMO capability.