• Alexandre Siciliano Colafranceschi, Andrey José de Oliveira Monteiro, Leonardo Secchin Canale, Luiz Antonio de Almeida Campos, Marcelo Westerlund Montera, Paulo Roberto Dutra da Silva, Marcelo Ramalho Fernandes, Alexandre de Araújo Pinto, Stelmar Moura Molas, and Evandro Tinoco Mesquita.
• Hospital Pró-Cardíaco, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. acolafranceschi@hotmail.com
• Arq. Bras. Cardiol. 2008 Jul 1;91(1):34-41.

BackgroundThe extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used in the neonatal and childhood periods with excellent results. The adult experience has been modest with inferior immediate results. The intermediate survival, however, has been promising. We have been using the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for temporary mechanical circulatory support of adults that present with acute refractory cardiogenic shock in our institution. There is no other published experience of the use of this system in this scenario in Brazil.ObjectiveTo describe our experience with the use of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for circulatory support in adults.MethodsRetrospective analysis of the medical files of patients submitted to the implant of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation system for circulatory assistance in acute and refractory cardiogenic shock.ResultsEleven patients (63,5 yo; 45,5% male) were considered for analysis from 2005 to 2007. Median support time was 77 hours (10-240 h) and 5 patients have survived 30 days (45,5%). Two patients were subsequently submitted to prolonged paracorporeal circulatory assistance. Mortality on ECMO (6 patients) was due to multiple organ failure (66,6%) and refractory bleeding (33,4%).ConclusionECMO system is an option to be used in acute refractory cardiogenic shock as a bridge to recovery or selecting patients that might benefit from prolonged paracorporeal assist devices (bridge to bridge).

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