Active rehabilitation and physical therapy during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation while awaiting lung transplantation: a practical approach.

OBJECTIVE: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a bridge to lung transplantation has traditionally been associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. A major contributor to these complications may be weakness and overall deconditioning secondary to pretransplant critical illness and immobility. In an attempt to address this issue, we developed a collaborative program to allow for active rehabilitation and physical therapy for patients requiring life support with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation before lung transplantation. DESIGN: An interdisciplinary team responded to an acute need to develop a mechanism for active rehabilitation and physical therapy for patients awaiting lung transplantation while being managed with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. We describe a series of three patients who benefited from this new approach. SETTING: A quaternary care pediatric intensive care unit in a children's hospital set within an 800-bed university academic hospital with an active lung transplantation program for adolescent and adult patients. PATIENTS, INTERVENTIONS, AND MAIN RESULTS: Three patients (ages 16, 20, and 24 yrs) with end-stage respiratory failure were rehabilitated while on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation awaiting lung transplantation. These patients were involved in active rehabilitation and physical therapy and, ultimately, were ambulatory on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation before successful transplantation. Following lung transplantation, the patients were liberated from mechanical ventilation, weaned to room air, transitioned out of the intensive care unit, and ambulatory less than 1 wk posttransplant. CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive, multidisciplinary system can be developed to safely allow for active rehabilitation, physical therapy, and ambulation of patients being managed with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Such programs may lead to a decreased threshold for the utilization of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation before transplant and have the potential to improve conditioning, decrease resource utilization, and lead to better outcomes in patients who require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation before lung transplantation.

Lung protective ventilation: a summary of the current evidence from the 2012 American Association for Respiratory Care International Congress.

Over 150 invited experts presented to almost 6000 participants at the most recent American Association for Respiratory Care International Congress. These participants represented a broad international audience with a range of expertise that included respiratory therapists, physicians, nurses and others. While the program incorporated an extensive curriculum, the theme of lung protective ventilation was highlighted throughout the Congress. Experts reviewed the current evidence regarding the risk for ventilator-induced lung injury in mechanically ventilated patients without pre-existing lung disease and in those with acute lung injury. In addition, several experts reviewed the cutting edge approach of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a lung protective approach.

Active rehabilitation during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a bridge to lung transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Patients with end-stage lung disease often progress to critical illness, which dramatically reduces their chance of survival following lung transplantation. Pre-transplant deconditioning has a significant impact on outcomes for all lung transplant patients, and is likely a major contributor to increased mortality in critically ill lung transplant recipients. The aim of this report is to describe a series of patients bridged to lung transplant with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and to examine the potential impact of active rehabilitation and ambulation during pre-transplant ECMO. METHODS: This retrospective case series reviews all patients bridged to lung transplantation with ECMO at a single tertiary care lung transplant center. Pre-transplant ECMO patients receiving active rehabilitation and ambulation were compared to those patients who were bridged with ECMO but did not receive pre-transplant rehabilitation. RESULTS: Nine consecutive subjects between April 2007 and May 2012 were identified for inclusion. One-year survival for all subjects was 100%, with one subject alive at 4 months post-transplant. The 5 subjects participating in pre-transplant rehabilitation had shorter mean post-transplant mechanical ventilation (4 d vs 34 d, P = .01), ICU stay (11 d vs 45 d, P = .01), and hospital stay (26 d vs 80 d, P = .01). No subject who participated in active rehabilitation had post-transplant myopathy, compared to 3 of 4 subjects who did not participate in pre-transplant rehabilitation on ECMO. CONCLUSIONS: Bridging selected critically ill patients to transplant with ECMO is a viable treatment option, and active participation in physical therapy, including ambulation, may provide a more rapid post-transplantation recovery. This innovative strategy requires further study to fully evaluate potential benefits and risks.

Preliminary observations of the use of high-frequency jet ventilation as rescue therapy in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is associated with mortality of 10% to 50%. Several investigators have reported outcomes from centers using high-frequency oscillatory ventilation in their management of CDH, but there are no recent reports on use of high-frequency jet ventilation. METHODS: During the study period from January 2001 until August 2007, infants with CDH who were cared for at Duke University Medical Center received high-frequency jet ventilation as a rescue mode of high-frequency ventilation. We compared actual survival with predicted survival for infants treated only with conventional ventilation vs those rescued with high-frequency jet ventilation after failing conventional ventilation. RESULTS: Survival for the 16 infants that received high-frequency jet ventilation was predicted to be 63%; actual survival was 75%. Survival for the 15 infants that received only conventional ventilation was predicted to be 83%; actual survival was 87%. We observed no significant survival benefit for high-frequency jet ventilation, 8.0% (95 confidence interval, -22.0% to 38.1%; P = .59). CONCLUSIONS: Although our sample size was small, we conclude with consideration of the absolute results, the degree of illness of the infants, and the biologic plausibility for the intervention that high-frequency jet ventilation is an acceptable rescue ventilation mode for infants with CDH.