• T Pranikoff, R B Hirschl, C N Steimle, H L Anderson, and R H Bartlett.
• Department of Surgery, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, USA.
• Crit. Care Med. 1997 Jan 1;25(1):28-32.

ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between the period of mechanical ventilation before extracorporeal life support and survival in patients with respiratory failure.DesignRetrospective review.SettingSurgical intensive care unit at a university medical center.PatientsThirty-six consecutive adult patients with severe respiratory failure managed with extracorporeal life support.InterventionsExtracorporeal life support was utilized in 36 acute respiratory failure adult patients with a variety of diagnoses and an estimated mortality rate of > 90%. Management protocols were followed before and during extracorporeal life support. The 36 patients were physiologically similar before extracorporeal life support was initiated: shunt of 48 +/- 17%; F10(2) of 1.0 +/- 0.1; peak inspiratory pressure of 56 +/- 16 cm H2O; positive end-expiratory pressure of 14 +/- 6 cm H2O; and respiratory rate of 23 +/- 10 breaths/ min. Ventilation was utilized for 1 to 17 days before extracorporeal life support. Typical lung rest settings during extracorporeal life support were F10(2) of 0.40, peak inspiratory pressure of 30 cm H2O, positive end-expiratory pressure of 10 cm H2O, and respiratory rate of 6 breaths/min. Death was almost always secondary to end-stage pulmonary failure.Measurements And Main ResultsSurvival (hospital discharge) in these 36 patients was inversely associated with the number of days of preextracorporeal life support ventilation, with a 50% mortality rate predicted by logistic regression after 5 days of mechanical ventilation. The overall survival rate was 18 (50.0%) of 36 patients.ConclusionsIn severe acute respiratory failure treated with lung rest and extracorporeal life support, a predicted 50% mortality rate was associated with 5 days of preextracorporeal life support mechanical ventilation.

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