Development of a collaborative program to provide extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for adults with refractory hypoxemia within the framework of a pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: We report the process used to rapidly develop a collaborative adult respiratory extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program as a response to caring for young adult patients with refractory hypoxemia in the setting of the pH1N1 pandemic. DESIGN: Interdisciplinary response of a complex medical system to a public health crisis. PATIENTS, INTERVENTIONS, MEASUREMENTS, AND MAIN RESULTS: After the successful use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in young adults with pH1N1-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome refractory to conventional therapies, an adult venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program was implemented over an 8-wk period. Implementation of this program involved a number of key steps that were crucial in the development process, including administrative and institutional support, multidisciplinary leadership and collaboration, extensive interdisciplinary educational initiatives, and substantial technical modifications. CONCLUSIONS: In the setting of the pH1N1 influenza pandemic, an adult respiratory extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program was successfully developed to complement an established neonatal-pediatric program. This program expansion integrated all of the necessary components involved in the development process from start to finish and confirms that a healthcare system can respond very quickly and successfully to an urgent healthcare need.

North American neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) devices and team roles: 2008 survey results of Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) centers.

In early 2008, surveys of active extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) centers in North America were conducted by electronic mail regarding neonatal ECMO equipment and professional staff. Eighty of 103 (78%) North American ECMO centers listed in the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization directory as neonatal centers responded to the survey. Of the responding centers, 82.5% routinely used roller pumps for neonatal ECMO, and the remaining 17.5% used centrifugal pumps. Silicone membrane oxygenators were used by 67% of the respondents, whereas 19% used micro-porous hollow fiber oxygenators, and 14% used polymethylpentene hollow fiber oxygenators. Of the silicone membrane oxygenator users, 86% used the Medtronic Ecmotherm heat exchanger, 10% used the Gish HE-4 heat exchanger, and 4% used the Terumo Conducer device. Sixty-four percent of the responding centers used some form of in-line blood gas monitoring. Six percent of the centers used a bubble trap in the arterial line, and 5% used an arterial line filter. A bladder was used by 85% of the centers, and 4% of these used a mechanical bladder box for servo regulation; the remaining 96% used pressure servo regulation. An air bubble detector was used by 88% of the responding centers. A surface coating was used by 44% of the centers on all their neonatal ECMO patients. Thirty-one percent of the centers use an activated clotting time of 180-220 seconds. At 54% of the responding centers, perfusionists were involved with the ECMO program, registered nurses were involved at 70% of the centers, and respiratory therapists were involved at 46% of the centers. Compared with a 2002 survey, silicone membrane use is declining, and the use of centrifugal blood pumps and coated ECMO circuits is becoming more apparent. ECMO teams are still multidisciplinary, made up of combinations of registered nurses, respiratory therapists, and perfusionists.

Hemolytic characteristics of three commercially available centrifugal blood pumps.

OBJECTIVE: As compared with traditional extracorporeal roller-occlusion blood pumps, nonocclusive centrifugal pumps offer the benefits of requiring a smaller circuit surface area and, thus, a smaller prime volume. However, centrifugal blood pumps have been reported to generate unacceptable levels of hemolysis. We hypothesize that the newer generation centrifugal pumps have an incidence of hemolysis similar to the traditional roller head pumps and, thus, could be used for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuits. DESIGN: Randomized, prospective, bench study. SETTING: University research laboratory. INTERVENTIONS: Three centrifugal blood pumps (Cobe Revolution, Jostra Rotaflow, and Medtronic BioMedicus) were compared with a roller occlusion blood pump (Cobe Century). Hemolysis generation was examined during 6 hrs of continuous use. Two test runs per group were randomly performed on three consecutive days for a total of six test runs for each of the four pumps (n = 24). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Plasma free hemoglobin values were determined using a Spectra MaxPlus spectrophotometer. A normalized index of hemolysis was calculated to compare the individual trials. The Cobe Revolution and the Jostra Rotaflow compared favorably with the Cobe Century roller occlusion blood pump in the amount of hemolysis produced. CONCLUSIONS: These data are encouraging for the development of a low-prime, mobile neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuit using centrifugal pump technology.

An isolated limb infusion technique: a guide for the perfusionist.

Isolated limb perfusion with the administration of cytotoxic drugs has been successfully used to treat melanomas of the extremity since it was first introduced in 1958. The use of hyperthermia (40 degrees C) combined with chemotherapy agents, primarily melphalan, has resulted in greater cytotoxicity in laboratory studies, which led to the application of hyperthermia in clinical studies during the 1960s. The effectiveness of this regional technique and the absence of any good systemic therapy made hyperthermic-isolated limb perfusion (HILP) the main treatment for patients with regionally advanced melanoma. HILP involves open surgical dissection and cannulation of the peripheral vessels and is associated with moderate morbidity rates. Blood transfusions, systemic drug leak, infection, and damage to the blood vessels and nerves are all potential hazards associated with this technique. Recently, however, there has been increased interest in an alternative technique termed isolated limb infusion (ILI), which was first reported in 1994 from the Sydney Melanoma Unit in Australia. Based on a few single institution experiences, it was found that there are fewer morbidities associated with HILP than with ILI but no compromise in patient outcomes. ILI is a less invasive procedure involving the use of angiographically placed catheters inserted percutaneously through the femoral vessels that does not require blood donor exposure or use of a heart lung machine. Preliminary data suggest that the resultant local hypoxia and acidosis induced by this procedure potentiates the cytotoxic effects of melphalan. Response rates comparing ILI to HILP seem similar, and both are markedly better than systemic chemotherapy. ILI may be a more desirable option because morbidity is greatly reduced and outcomes appear similar. There is a potential role for the perfusionist in the application of ILI, an evolving area of cancer therapy.

An ultrafiltration technique for directly reinfusing residual cardiopulmonary bypass blood.

Given the shortages of banked blood, the risks of transfusion reactions, disease transmissions, and transfusion errors, we perfusionists must find ways to avoid blood transfusions. At the end of any given bypass run, there is residual blood left in the bypass circuit, the perfusionist must get this blood back to the patient. Most commonly either a cell saver or a hemoconcentrator (HC) has been used, in some fashion, to reinfuse residual circuit blood. The ideal method should: 1) be simple; 2) raise the hematocrit (HCT); 3) allow for changes in the patient's volume status; and 4) not compromise the integrity of the cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) circuit allowing for rapid re-institution of CPB. We describe a technique in which residual CPB circuit blood is pumped through an HC directly to the patient via a 3/16-inch diameter line into a 16-gauge intravenous needle positioned in a peripheral or central vein. This allows the perfusionist to give back concentrated blood that is protein-rich while maintaining the above criteria.

North American neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) devices: 2002 survey results.

In mid 2002, surveys of active extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) centers in the United States and Canada were conducted via E-mail regarding neonatal equipment and personnel. Seventy-four out of 99 (75%) North American ECMO centers listed in the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) directory responded to the survey. Of the responding centers, 95% use roller pumps, and the remaining 5% use centrifugal pumps. Silicone membrane oxygenators were used by 97% of the respondents, while 3% used hollow fiber oxygenators. Of the silicone membrane oxygenator users, 82% used the Medtronic ECMOtherm heat exchanger, 15% used a Gish heat exchanger, and 3% used the Dideco D720 heat exchanger. Sixty-one percent of the responding centers used some form of in-line blood gas monitoring. Five percent of the centers used a bubble trap in the arterial line, and 12% used an arterial line filter. A bladder was used by 92% of the centers, and 29% used a mechanical bladder box for servo regulation, the remaining 71% used pressure servo regulation. An air bubble detector was used by 65% of the responding centers, although 81% had the device available. Heparin coating was used by 5% of the centers on all their neonatal ECMO patients. The average low range ACT was 183 seconds, and the average high range ACT was 216 seconds. At 49% of the responding centers, perfusionists were involved with the ECMO program, registered nurses were involved at 84% of the centers, and respiratory therapists were involved at 61% of the centers, perfusion assistants were involved at one center (1%), and biomedical engineers were involved at one of the centers. When compared to a 1990 survey, a shift away from using bladder boxes and toward using air bubble detectors is apparent. But other than those two shifts, ECMO is done in much the same manner as it was done 12 years ago.

A clinical comparison of two commercially available pediatric hemoconcentrators.

Hemoconcentration is a technique that involves selective removal of plasma water and some dissolved solutes by way of an ultrafiltration membrane. Hemoconcentrators (HC) are routinely used during pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) to remove free plasma water and various inflammatory mediators. This paper examines two different commercial HCs, the Dideco DHF0.2 and the Minntech Hemocor HPH 400. Both products were evaluated when used for prebypass ultrafiltration (Pre-BUF), and postbypass modified ultrafiltration (MUF). Five HCs were evaluated for each product, and the two groups were compared during the two different phases of the cardiac procedure. During the pre-BUF period, both groups of HCs were tested at a transmembrane pressure (TMP) gradient of 500 millimeters of mercury (mmHg). The mean amount of ultrafiltrate (UF) removed by the Dideco DHF0.2 was 81.4 milliliters per minute (mL/min), and the mean amount of UF removed by the Minntech Hemocor HPH 400 was 90.8 mL/min during the pre-BUF period. During the peribypass period flow parameters were much harder to define. As a result, these data are not reported. During the MUF procedure, the mean amount of UF removed by the Dideco DHF0.2 was 74.2 mL/min at an average MUF flow rate of 130 mL/min. The mean amount of UF removed by the Minntech Hemocor HPH 400 was 81.4 mL/min at an average MUF flow rate of 127 mL/min. Both products performed adequately under the clinical circumstances described above. The Minntech HPH 400 produced a hemofiltrate that was consistently tinged with a slight red color. The Dideco DHF0.2 consistently produced a hemofiltrate that was noticeably clearer than that of the Minntech device.

Venous line filtration: a novel technique for cases involving inferior vena caval and right atrial tumor and associated thrombus: a two-case series.

Two patients are presented with right atrial tumors, who were considered to be at risk for tumor thrombus migration down the venous line into the cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) circuit during surgical excision, which may lead to compromised or interrupted venous drainage. An arterial line filter was placed in the venous line to capture any material that might become dislodged and embolize into the circuit. Vacuum-assisted venous drainage, at approximately -50 mmHg, was used to overcome any resistance caused by the filter in the venous line. In one case, tumor thrombus obstructed the filter, requiring the use of the bypass line around the filter, so venous return could be maintained. In both cases, thrombus was found in the filter. The first case was a 44-year-old female (81 kg, 137 cm, body surface area (BSA) 1.66 m2) who presented with a metastatic pheochromocytoma with associated thrombus arising from the left adrenal gland and extending into the inferior vena cava (IVC) and right atrium. The second case was a 37-year-old male (95 kg, 178 cm, BSA 2.17 m2), who presented with a very large angiosarcoma tumor involving almost the entire right atrium. We have shown that venous line filtration with vacuum-assisted venous drainage can be performed safely, and should be considered in cases where there is tumor thrombus in the vena cava or right atrium, which may threaten venous return.