• Amélie Bataillard, Amélie Hebrard, Lucie Gaide-Chevronnay, Cécile Martin, Michel Durand, Pierre Albaladejo, and Jean Francois Payen.
• Division of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital of Grenoble, Grenoble - France.
• Int J Artif Organs. 2017 Nov 24; 40 (12): 696-700.

PurposeExtracorporeal life support (ECLS) is a cardiopulmonary support system used for the treatment of severe cardiac and/or respiratory failure. Mortality is high partly because of the severity of the condition that requires support. The use of ECLS is generally associated with heavy sedation. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of stopping sedation, allowing extubation of patients supported by ECLS.Methods196 patients supported by ECLS for a period of 4 years were included. Sedation was stopped as soon as possible to allow extubation. The 44 extubated patients were compared with non-extubated patients. Finally, 24% of patients were not extubated without a determined cause and were compared with extubated patients.ResultsThe extubated patients had a lower incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia. In a multivariate analysis, the independent risk factors for death were the duration of ECLS, age and lack of extubation. Stopping sedation and extubation are feasible in selected patients under ECLS.ConclusionsThis strategy could be a survival factor.

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