Improving Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Survival in COVID-19. Effect of a Bundle of Care.

Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our program changed the model of care pursuing to protect the multidisciplinary team from the risk of infection and to serve as many patients as possible. Patient-healthcare interactions were restricted, and the ECMO bed capacity was increased by reducing the ECMO specialist-patient ratio to 1:4 with non-ECMO trained nurses support. The outcomes worsened and we paused while we evaluated and modified our model of care. The ECMO bed capacity was reduced to allow a nurse ECMO-specialist nurse ratio 2:1 with an ECMO trained nurse assistant's support. Intensivists, general practitioners, nurse assistants, and physical and respiratory therapists were trained on ECMO. Tracheostomy, bronchoscopy, and microbiological molecular diagnosis were done earlier, and family visits and rehabilitation were allowed in the first 48 hours of ECMO cannulation. There were 35 patients in the preintervention cohort and 66 in the postintervention cohort. Ninety days mortality was significantly lower after the intervention (62.9% vs. 31.8%, p = 0.003). Factors associated with increased risk of death were the need for cannulation or conversion to veno arterial or veno arterio venous ECMO, hemorrhagic stroke, and renal replacement therapy during ECMO. The interventions associated with a decrease in the risk of death were the following: early fiberoptic bronchoscopy and microbiological molecular diagnostic tests. Increasing the ECMO multidisciplinary team in relation to the number of patients and the earlier performance of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, such as tracheostomy, fiberoptic bronchoscopy, molecular microbiological diagnosis of pneumonia, rehabilitation, and family support significantly decreased mortality of patients on ECMO due to COVID-19.

An international observational study to assess the impact of the Omicron variant emergence on the clinical epidemiology of COVID-19 in hospitalised patients.

Background: Whilst timely clinical characterisation of infections caused by novel SARS-CoV-2 variants is necessary for evidence-based policy response, individual-level data on infecting variants are typically only available for a minority of patients and settings. Methods: Here, we propose an innovative approach to study changes in COVID-19 hospital presentation and outcomes after the Omicron variant emergence using publicly available population-level data on variant relative frequency to infer SARS-CoV-2 variants likely responsible for clinical cases. We apply this method to data collected by a large international clinical consortium before and after the emergence of the Omicron variant in different countries. Results: Our analysis, that includes more than 100,000 patients from 28 countries, suggests that in many settings patients hospitalised with Omicron variant infection less often presented with commonly reported symptoms compared to patients infected with pre-Omicron variants. Patients with COVID-19 admitted to hospital after Omicron variant emergence had lower mortality compared to patients admitted during the period when Omicron variant was responsible for only a minority of infections (odds ratio in a mixed-effects logistic regression adjusted for likely confounders, 0.67 [95% confidence interval 0.61-0.75]). Qualitatively similar findings were observed in sensitivity analyses with different assumptions on population-level Omicron variant relative frequencies, and in analyses using available individual-level data on infecting variant for a subset of the study population. Conclusions: Although clinical studies with matching viral genomic information should remain a priority, our approach combining publicly available data on variant frequency and a multi-country clinical characterisation dataset with more than 100,000 records allowed analysis of data from a wide range of settings and novel insights on real-world heterogeneity of COVID-19 presentation and clinical outcome. Funding: Bronner P. Gonçalves, Peter Horby, Gail Carson, Piero L. Olliaro, Valeria Balan, Barbara Wanjiru Citarella, and research costs were supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Wellcome [215091/Z/18/Z, 222410/Z/21/Z, 225288/Z/22/Z]; and Janice Caoili and Madiha Hashmi were supported by the UK FCDO and Wellcome [222048/Z/20/Z]. Peter Horby, Gail Carson, Piero L. Olliaro, Kalynn Kennon and Joaquin Baruch were supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [OPP1209135]; Laura Merson was supported by University of Oxford's COVID-19 Research Response Fund - with thanks to its donors for their philanthropic support. Matthew Hall was supported by a Li Ka Shing Foundation award to Christophe Fraser. Moritz U.G. Kraemer was supported by the Branco Weiss Fellowship, Google.org, the Oxford Martin School, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the European Union Horizon 2020 project MOOD (#874850). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. Contributions from Srinivas Murthy, Asgar Rishu, Rob Fowler, James Joshua Douglas, François Martin Carrier were supported by CIHR Coronavirus Rapid Research Funding Opportunity OV2170359 and coordinated out of Sunnybrook Research Institute. Contributions from Evert-Jan Wils and David S.Y. Ong were supported by a grant from foundation Bevordering Onderzoek Franciscus; and Andrea Angheben by the Italian Ministry of Health "Fondi Ricerca corrente-L1P6" to IRCCS Ospedale Sacro Cuore-Don Calabria. The data contributions of J.Kenneth Baillie, Malcolm G. Semple, and Ewen M. Harrison were supported by grants from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR; award CO-CIN-01), the Medical Research Council (MRC; grant MC_PC_19059), and by the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections at University of Liverpool in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) (award 200907), NIHR HPRU in Respiratory Infections at Imperial College London with PHE (award 200927), Liverpool Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (grant C18616/A25153), NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Imperial College London (award IS-BRC-1215-20013), and NIHR Clinical Research Network providing infrastructure support. All funders of the ISARIC Clinical Characterisation Group are listed in the appendix.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for COVID-19: Updated 2021 Guidelines from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization.

DISCLAIMER: This is an updated guideline from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) for the role of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for patients with severe cardiopulmonary failure due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The great majority of COVID-19 patients (>90%) requiring ECMO have been supported using venovenous (V-V) ECMO for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). While COVID-19 ECMO run duration may be longer than in non-COVID-19 ECMO patients, published mortality appears to be similar between the two groups. However, data collection is ongoing, and there is a signal that overall mortality may be increasing. Conventional selection criteria for COVID-19-related ECMO should be used; however, when resources become more constrained during a pandemic, more stringent contraindications should be implemented. Formation of regional ECMO referral networks may facilitate communication, resource sharing, expedited patient referral, and mobile ECMO retrieval. There are no data to suggest deviation from conventional ECMO device or patient management when applying ECMO for COVID-19 patients. Rarely, children may require ECMO support for COVID-19-related ARDS, myocarditis, or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C); conventional selection criteria and management practices should be the standard. We strongly encourage participation in data submission to investigate the optimal use of ECMO for COVID-19.

CONSENSO ECMO COLOMBIANO PARA PACIENTE CON FALLA RESPIRATORIA GRAVE ASOCIADA A COVID-19

Resumen Antecedentes y objetivos: la epidemia de COVID-19 ha creado un desafío sin precedentes en el sistema de salud, generando una demanda creciente. Alrededor del 5% de los pacientes diagnosticados con esta infección requieren ingreso a cuidados intensivos principalmente para soporte ventilatorio con ventilación mecánica por un síndrome de dificultad respiratoria aguda de moderado a grave. Las mortalidades reportadas pueden ser muy altas. Los dos principales Las causas de muerte en esta infección son la hipoxemia refractaria asociada al SDRA y el shock con insuficiencia orgánica múltiple. La oxigenación con membrana extracorpórea (ECMO) se ha utilizado en pacientes con hipoxemia refractaria sin respuesta a manejo con ventilación mecánica protectora, ventilación en posición prono y relajación muscular⁠⁠. La Organización Mundial de la Salud recomienda considerar ECMO en pacientes adultos y pediátricos con COVID-19 y Síndrome de Dificultad respiratoria aguda (SDRA) refractaria, si hay un equipo de expertos disponible. Métodos: se utilizó la metodología de consenso formal para generar el Consenso ECMO en la infección SARS CoV-2 con la mejor evidencia disponible. El desarrollo del consenso combina las técnicas de selección, síntesis, evaluación y gradación de la evidencia: formulación de la pregunta PICO, Estrategias de búsqueda sistemática y técnicas de síntesis (metaanálisis). La evaluación de la calidad de la evidencia y la graduación de la fuerza de las recomendaciones se realizó con la estrategia GRADE, generando al final recomendaciones a los tópicos más relevantes del manejo del paciente con COVID-19 candidato a ECMO y por técnica de consenso formal (Delphi). Resultados: EL CONSENSO COLOMBIANO PARA UN PACIENTE CON FALLA RESPIRATORIA GRAVE ASOCIADO a COVID-19 proporciona un resumen de la evidencia sobre el uso de membranas de oxigenación extracorpórea en insuficiencia respiratoria hipoxémica aguda grave asociada con la infección SARS CoV-2, dando recomendaciones sobre sus indicaciones, Contraindicaciones, consideraciones y la implementación del grupo ECMOred Colombia. Conclusiones: el consenso colombiano de ECMO es un documento de guía y consulta para el manejo de pacientes con insuficiencia respiratoria aguda grave refractaria y disfunción cardiovascular asociada con COVID-19 candidatos para ECMO. Background and objectives: The COVID-19 epidemic has created an unprecedented challenge in the health system, generating increasing demand. About 5% of diagnosed patients require intensive care admissions primarily for support with mechanical ventilation for a moderate to severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. The reported mortalities can be very high. The two main causes of death in this type of infection are refractory hypoxemia associated to ARD and, shock with multiple organ failure. Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) has been used in patients with refractory hypoxemia and no response to management with protective ventilation, prone ventilation, and muscle relaxation⁠⁠. The World Health Organization recommends considering ECMO in adult and pediatric patients with COVID-19 and severe refractory acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), if an expert team is available. Methods: The formal consensus methodology was used to generate the ECMO Consensus in the SARS CoV-2 infection with the best available evidence. The development of the consensus combined the techniques of selection, synthesis, evaluation and gradation of the evidence: formulation of the PICO question, systematic search strategies, synthesis techniques (meta-analysis). The evaluation of the quality of the evidence and the grading of the strength of the recommendations was carried out with the GRADE strategy. Results: The COLOMBIAN ECMO CONSENSUS FOR A PATIENT WITH SERIOUS RESPIRATORY FAILURE ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19 provides a summary of the evidence of the use of extracorporeal oxygenation membranes in severe hypoxemic respiratory failure associated with this SARS CoV-2 infection, giving recommendations on its indications. Contraindications, considerations and the implementation of the ECMOred Colombia group. Conclusions: The Colombian ECMO Consensus is a consultation and guide document for the management of patients with refractory severe acute respiratory failure and cardiovascular dysfunction associated with COVID-19 candidates for ECMO.