Cardiogenic shock (CS) describes a physiological state of end-organ hypoperfusion characterized by reduced cardiac output in the presence of adequate intravascular volume. Mortality still remains exceptionally high. Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) has become the preferred device for short-term hemodynamic support in patients with CS. ECMO provides the highest cardiac output, complete cardiopulmonary support. In addition, the device has portable characteristics, more familiar to medical personnel. VA ECMO provides cardiopulmonary support for patients in profound CS as a bridge to myocardial recovery. This review provides an overview of VA ECMO in salvage of CS, emphasizing the indications, management and further direction.
As an extracorporeal life support technology, veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) has been demonstrated its role in the treatment of patients with severe respiratory failure. Its main advantages include the ability to maintain adequate oxygenation and remove excess CO2, increase oxygen delivery, improve tissue perfusion and metabolism, and implement lung protection strategies. Clinicians should accurately assess and identify the patient's condition, timely and accurately carry out VV-ECMO operation and management. This article will review the patient selection, cannulation strategy, anticoagulation, clinical management and weaning involved in the application of VV-ECMO.
Objective We aimed to evaluate the comparative efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the ECMO versus mechanical ventilation through a rapid health technology assessment. Methods PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data, and CBM databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs), systematic reviews, meta-analyses, complete economic evaluations, and CRD database for HTA reports from inception to December 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. Descriptive analysis and summary were then performed. Results A total of 21 references were involved, including 2 HTA reports, 5 RCTs, 11 systematic reviews or meta-analyses, and 3 economic evaluations. The quality of the literature evidence was heterogenous, and only 2 RCTs of high quality were included for meta-analysis. The results showed that the difference of 60-day mortality between ECMO and mechanical ventilation was statistically significant (RR=0.73, 95%CI 0.57 to 0.92, P=0.007). The majority of recent meta-analysis literature showed that short-term mortality of ECMO treatment was lower than that of mechanically ventilated patients. The cost-effective literature from different countries all showed that it was cost-effective in their respective health system, however, the quality of the literature varied. Conclusions Current evidence shows that ECMO has better safety, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness for ARDS compared with mechanical ventilation. However, it still required to be verified by high-quality studies with a long-term follow-up. Validate conclusions are needed through rigorous health technology assessments.
ObjectiveTo analyze the early outcomes of anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction after surgical repair, and to explore the predictors for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support for these patients.MethodsThe clinical data of ALCAPA patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction (left ventricular ejection fraction<40%) who underwent coronary artery reimplantation in the pediatric center of our hospital from 2013 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into an ECMO group and a non-ECMO group. Clinical data of the two groups were compared and analyzed.ResultsA total of 64 ALCAPA patients were included. There were 7 patients in the ECMO group, including 4 males and 3 females aged 6.58±1.84 months. There were 57 pateints in the non-ECMO group, including 30 males and 27 females aged 4.34±2.56 months. The mortality of the patients was 6.25% (4/64), including 2 patients in the ECMO group, and 2 in the non-ECMO group. The postoperative complications rate was significantly higher in the ECMO group than that in the non-ECMO group (P=0.041). There were statistical differences in the cardiopulmonary bypass time [254 (153, 417) min vs. 106 (51, 192) min, P=0.013], aortic cross-clamping (ACC) time (89.57±13.66 min vs. 61.58±19.57 min, P=0.039), and preoperative left ventricular end-diastolic diameter/body surface area (132.32±14.71 mm/m2 vs. 108.00±29.64 mm/m2, P=0.040) between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that ACC time was an independent risk factor for postoperative ECMO support (P=0.005). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve was 0.757, the sensitivity was 85.70%, specificity was 66.70%, with the cut-off value of 66 min.ConclusionACC time is an independent risk factor for postoperative ECMO support. Patients with an ACC time>66 min have a significantly higher risk for ECMO support after the surgery.
ObjectiveTo explore the safety and feasibility of the establishment method and management strategy of prolonged support model with veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO) under dual lumen cannula (DLC) in conscious sheep.MethodsThree adult male sheep were selected. An Avalon Elite DLC was inserted into the superior vena cava, right atrium, and inferior vena cava through the right jugular vein and was connected with centrifugal pump and oxygenator to establish the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuit. All the 3 sheep were transferred into the monitoring cage after operation and were ambulatory after anesthesia recovery. Hemodynamic parameters and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation performance were measured every day.ResultsAll three sheep survived to the end of the experiment (7 days). In the whole process of the experiment, the basic vital signs of the experimental sheep were stable, and no serious bleeding or thrombotic events occurred. During the experiment, hemoglobin concentration and platelet count were relatively stable, plasma free hemoglobin was maintained at a low level, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation flow rate was stable, and oxygenation performance of oxygenator was good.ConclusionProlonged V-V ECMO model in conscious sheep under DLC is feasible and stable.
Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is a salvage therapy for patients suffering cardiac arrest refractory to conventional resuscitation, and provides circulatory support in patients who fail to achieve a sustained return of spontaneous circulation. ECPR serves as a bridge therapy that maintains organ perfusion whilst the underlying etiology of the cardiac arrest is determined and treated. Increasing recognition of the survival benefit associated with ECPR has led to increased use of ECPR during the past decade. Commonly used indications for ECPR are: age<70 years, initial rhythm of ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia, witnessed arrest, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation within 5 min, failure to achieve sustained return of spontaneous circulation within 15 min of beginning cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This review provides an overview of ECPR utilization, recent outcomes, risk factors, and complications of ECPR. Identifying ECPR indications, rapid deployment of extracorporeal life support equipment, and high-quality ECPR management strategies are of paramount importance to improve survival.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the correlation of activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), activated clotting time (ACT) and the activity of anti-factor Ⅹa activity with the concentration of unfractionated heparin (UFH) during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in children after cardiac surgery.MethodsThe clinical data of children (aged 6 months to 6 years) who received ECMO support after cardiac surgery in Fuwai Hospital from January 2010 to October 2020 were retrospectively collected. And the aPTT value, ACT value, anti-Ⅹa activity and the corresponding UFH dose measured simultaneously during ECMO were recorded. According to the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization anticoagulation guideline, the bleeding events of children during ECMO support were defined, and the children were divided into a bleeding group and a non-bleeding group according to whether bleeding events occurred. Pearson correlation was used to evaluate the correlation between ACT, aPTT or anti-Ⅹa activity and UFH in the same patient.ResultsA total of 58 children, including 33 males and 25 females, aged 27.31±34.17 months, were enrolled and divided into the bleeding group (n=39) and the non-bleeding group (n=19). Univariate analysis showed that compared with children in the non-bleeding group, children in the bleeding group had lower red blood cell counts (P=0.049), hemoglobin concentration (P=0.010), and hematocrit (P=0.046) on the day of ECMO installation. In addition, the transfusion volume of fresh frozen plasma (P=0.034) and fibrinogen (P=0.033) in the bleeding group was relatively more, and the proportion of exploratory thoracotomy for hemostasis was high (P=0.000); there was a moderate degree of correlation between anti-Ⅹa and UFH (r=0.418, P=0.013) but there was no correlation between ACT or aPTT and UFH.ConclusionThe aPTT value and ACT value are poorly correlated with the concentration of UFH transfused during ECMO in children after cardiac surgery, while the anti-Ⅹa activity is moderately correlated with it.
ObjectiveTo analyze the risk factors for pediatric heart transplantation at a single center and its impact on short-term prognosis, providing experience and reference for pediatric heart transplantation. MethodsThe children who underwent heart transplantation from May 2022 to May 2024 at the Seventh Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital were included in this study. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the clinical data of donors and recipients, perioperative conditions, and postoperative complications. The double-lumen venoplasty technique was used for all surgeries. Basiliximab was applied for immune induction during and after the operation (on the 4th day). Tacrolimus+mycophenolate mofetil+prednisolone acetate was used for postoperative immunosuppressive maintenance treatment. According to whether patients had a history of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) installation before surgery, they were divided into an ECMO group and a non-ECMO group. The postoperative ICU stay time, postoperative ventilator assistance time, aortic clamping time, cardiopulmonary bypass time, recipient body surface area, left ventricular ejection fraction, X-ray cardiothoracic ratio, donor heart cold ischemia time, and the weight ratio between donor and recipient were compared between the two groups, and correlation analysis was performed. ResultsA total of 17 children were included, with 10 (58.8%) males and 7 (41.2%) females. Their ages ranged from 7 months to 16 years, with a median age of 11.0 (10.0, 13.0) years. Their weights ranged from 7.0 to 67.5 kg, with an average weight of (41.6±16.7) kg. Of the 17 children, 16 survived post-operation, and 1 died 5 days after the operation. Five patients were ABO incompatible heart transplantations, and 11 patients had a history of ECMO installation before surgery. The left ventricular ejection fraction of the non-ECMO group was higher than that of the ECMO group (t=2.188, P=0.045). The postoperative ICU stay time and postoperative ventilator assistance time (r=0.599, P=0.011), and cardiopulmonary bypass time (r=0.667, P=0.003) were positively correlated. The cardiothoracic ratio was negatively correlated with the postoperative ventilator assistance time (r=−0.527, P=0.030). ConclusionPediatric heart transplantation is an effective treatment method for children with end-stage heart failure. The left ventricular ejection fraction of the recipient may be a predictive factor indicating that the child needs ECMO assistance. Longer extracorporeal circulation time and larger recipient body surface area may affect the surgical process and perioperative prognosis.