• Amy G Fiedler, Adam Dalia, Andrea L Axtell, Jamel Ortoleva, Sunu M Thomas, Nathalie Roy, Mauricio A Villavicencio, David A D'Alessandro, and Gaston Cudemus.
• Division of Cardiac Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Electronic address: afiedler@partners.org.
• J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. 2018 Dec 1; 32 (6): 2585-2591.

ObjectiveAt the authors' institution, before 2015, patients cannulated for peripheral venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) did not undergo left ventricular (LV) decompression with the use of an LV vent. After 2015, the authors' institution began using the Impella device to vent the left ventricle in patients on VA-ECMO. The authors hypothesized that survival outcomes would improve in patients on VA-ECMO with the use of an Impella for LV venting.DesignRetrospective, chart based review study.SettingSingle center, university-based hospital.ParticipantsAll adult patients at the authors' institution who required VA-ECMO between January 2015 and May 2017.InterventionAn Impella (Abiomed, Danvers, MA) device was placed percutaneously in patients cannulated for VA-ECMO as a mechanism to provide LV venting and decompression, therefore unloading the heart.Measurements And Main ResultsManual chart review was conducted, and a survival analysis was performed. It was observed that patients on VA-ECMO in whom an Impella was implanted had improved survival and an improvement in LV function as demonstrated by echocardiography compared with patients maintained on VA-ECMO alone.ConclusionsPatients on VA-ECMO plus Impella implantation demonstrated improved survival compared with patients treated with VA-ECMO alone. Key echocardiographic characteristics such as improved LV function after Impella placement and LV cavity size reduction during therapy may help predict those patients who may benefit most from this cannulation strategy.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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