Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Adults. Interim Guideline Consensus Statement From the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization.

DISCLAIMER: Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasingly being deployed for selected patients in cardiac arrest who do not attain a native circulation with conventional CPR (ECPR). This ELSO guideline is intended to be a practical guide to implementing ECPR and the early management following establishment of ECMO support. Where a paucity of high-quality evidence exists, a consensus has been reached amongst the authors to provide guidance to the clinician. This guideline will be updated as further evidence in this field becomes available.

Blood conservation in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for acute respiratory distress syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support (ECMO) typically requires multiple blood transfusions and is associated with frequent bleeding complications. Blood transfusions are known to increase morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients, which may extend to patients receiving ECMO. Aiming to reduce transfusion requirements, we implemented a blood conservation protocol in adults with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) receiving ECMO. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of adults receiving ECMO for ARDS after initiation of a blood conservation protocol that included a transfusion trigger of hemoglobin of less than 7.0 g/dL, use of low-dose anticoagulation targeting an activated partial thromboplastin time of 40 to 60 seconds, and autotransfusion of circuit blood during decannulation. The primary objective was to evaluate transfusion requirements during ECMO support. Clinical outcomes included survival, neurologic function, renal function, bleeding, and thrombotic complications. RESULTS: The analysis included 38 patients; of these, 24 (63.2%) received a transfusion while receiving ECMO. Median hemoglobin was 8.29 g/dL. A median of 1.0 units (range, 250 to 300 mL) was transfused during ECMO support over a median duration of 9.0 days, equivalent to 0.11 U/d (range, 27.5 to 33.3 mL/d). The median activated partial thromboplastin time was 46.5 seconds. Bleeding occurred in 10 patients (26.3%); severe bleeding occurred in 2 patients (5.3%). Twenty-eight patients (73.7%) survived to hospital discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a blood conservation protocol in adults receiving ECMO for ARDS resulted in lower transfusion requirements and bleeding complications than previously reported in the literature and was associated with comparable survival and organ recovery.

Ethical dilemmas encountered with the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in adults.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) can serve as a bridge to recovery in cases of acute reversible illness, a bridge to transplantation in circumstances of irreversible cardiac or respiratory failure, a bridge to ventricular assist device therapy in select cases of cardiac failure, or a bridge to decision when the prognosis remains uncertain. Recent advances in ECMO technology that allow for prolonged support with decreased complications, the development of mobile ECMO teams, the rapidity of initiation, and the growing body of evidence, much of which remains controversial, have led to a significant increase in the use of ECMO worldwide. This increasing use of a technology that is not a destination device in itself introduces many ethical dilemmas specific to this technology. In this article, we explore some of the ethical issues inherent in the decisions surrounding the initiation and withdrawal of ECMO by raising key questions and providing a framework for clinicians. We will address extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the inability to bridge a patient to transplant or recovery--the so-called "bridge to nowhere"--and the significance of resuscitation preferences in the setting of continual extracorporeal circulatory support.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a novel bridging strategy for acute right heart failure in group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Patients with group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and decompensated right heart failure (RHF) were not previously considered for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as bridge to transplantation (BTT) or bridge to recovery (BTR) because options were limited by long transplantation wait times and perceived inability to wean ECMO. In a retrospective review, we describe our center's multidisciplinary mechanical-medical approach to ECMO as a bridging therapy for PAH (2009-2012). Suitability for ECMO was determined using a defined algorithm. Six patients (age, 32 ± 11 years) underwent mechanical-medical bridging. Two transplant-eligible patients underwent successful BTT. The four patients ineligible for transplantation underwent BTR with escalation of targeted medical therapies before weaning off ECMO. Three of four BTR patients survived to ECMO decannulation (duration, 12 ± 7; range, 7-23 days). In this single-institution experience, mechanical-medical BTT and BTR with ECMO and targeted PAH therapies were used as a novel treatment strategy to successfully manage acute RHF in PAH.

Upper-body extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a strategy in decompensated pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly during an acute decompensation. We describe a single-center experience of three patients with severe Group 1 PAH, refractory to targeted medical therapy, in which an extubated, nonsedated, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) strategy with an upper-body configuration was used as a bridge to recovery or lung transplantation. All three patients were extubated within 24 hours of ECMO initiation. Two patients were successfully bridged to lung transplantation, and the other patient was optimized on targeted PAH therapy with subsequent recovery from an acute decompensation. The upper-body ECMO configuration allowed for daily physical therapy, including one patient, who would otherwise have been unsuitable for transplantation, ambulating over 850 meters daily. This series demonstrates the feasibility of using ECMO to bridge PAH patients to recovery or transplantation while avoiding the complications of immobility and invasive mechanical ventilation.

Pilot study of extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal to facilitate extubation and ambulation in exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RATIONALE: Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) may facilitate extubation and ambulation in these patients and potentially improve outcomes. OBJECTIVES: We assessed the feasibility of achieving early extubation and ambulation in subjects requiring IMV for exacerbations of COPD using single-site ECCO2R. METHODS: Five subjects with exacerbations of COPD with uncompensated hypercapnia requiring IMV were enrolled in this single-center, prospective, feasibility trial using a protocol of ECCO2R, extubation, and physical rehabilitation. The primary endpoint was extubation within 72 hours of starting ECCO2R. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Mean preintubation pH and PaCO2 were 7.23 ± 0.05 and 81.6 ± 15.9 mm Hg, respectively. All subjects met the primary endpoint (median duration, 4 h; range, 1.5-21.5 h). Mean duration of extracorporeal support was 193.0 ± 76.5 hours. Mean time to ambulation after extracorporeal initiation was 29.4 ± 12.6 hours. Mean maximal ambulation on extracorporeal support was 302 feet (range, 70-600). Four subjects were discharged home, and one underwent planned lung transplantation. Two minor bleeding complications occurred. There were no complications from mobilization on extracorporeal support. CONCLUSIONS: ECCO2R facilitates early extubation and ambulation in exacerbations of COPD requiring IMV and has the potential to serve as a new paradigm for the management of a select group of patients. Rigorous clinical trials are needed to corroborate these results and to investigate the effect on long-term outcomes and cost effectiveness over conventional management.