Artificial organs
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Review Meta Analysis
Similar cerebral protective effectiveness of antegrade and retrograde cerebral perfusion during deep hypothermic circulatory arrest in aortic surgery: a meta-analysis of 7023 patients.
In aortic arch surgery, deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) combined with cerebral perfusion is employed worldwide as a routine practice. Even though antegrade cerebral perfusion (ACP) is more widely used than retrograde cerebral perfusion (RCP), the difference in benefit and risk between ACP and RCP during DHCA is uncertain. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to compare neurologic outcomes and early mortality between ACP and RCP in patients who underwent aortic surgery during DHCA. ⋯ There was low heterogeneity (I(2) = 18.7%). The analysis showed that patients undergoing DHCA + ACP had better outcomes than those undergoing DHCA + RCP in terms of TND, while there were no significant differences between groups in terms of PND, stroke, and early mortality. This meta-analysis indicates that DHCA + ACP has an advantage over DHCA + RCP in terms of TND, while the two methods show similar results in terms of PND, early mortality, and stroke.
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We aimed to determine the effect of elective left heart decompression at the time of initiation of central venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) on VA ECMO duration and clinical outcomes in children in a single tertiary ECMO referral center with a large pediatric population from a national referral center for pediatric cardiac surgery. We studied 51 episodes of VA ECMO in a historical cohort of 49 pediatric patients treated between the years 1990 and 2013 in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. The cases had a variety of diagnoses including congenital cardiac abnormalities, sepsis, myocarditis, and cardiomyopathy. ⋯ Elective left heart decompression was not associated with improved ECMO survival or survival to PICU discharge. Elective left heart decompression may reduce ECMO duration and has therefore the potential to reduce ECMO-related complications. A prospective, randomized controlled trial is indicated to study this intervention further.
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Comparative Study Observational Study
Relationship between renal function and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use: a single-center experience.
The effects of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support on renal function in children with critical illness are unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of ECMO on renal function among children in different age groups. We performed a single-center retrospective observational study in critically ill children ≤ 18 years supported on ECMO for refractory cardiac or pulmonary failure (2006-2012). ⋯ Proportions of patients in different AKIN stages remained similar in the first 7 days after ECMO initiation. We demonstrate that renal dysfunction improves early after ECMO support. Irrespective of the underlying disease process or patient age, renal function improves in children with pulmonary or cardiac failure who are placed on ECMO.
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Recommendations concerning the management of hemoglobin levels and hematocrit in patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) still advise maintenance of a normal hematocrit. In contrast, current transfusion guidelines for critically ill patients support restrictive transfusion practice. We report on a series of patients receiving venovenous ECMO (vvECMO) for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) treated according to the restrictive transfusion regimen recommended for critically ill patients. ⋯ Mean lactate clearance from the first to the third day was 45.4 ± 28.3%, with no significant difference between survivors and nonsurvivors (P = 0.19). In our cohort of patients treated with ECMO due to severe ARDS, the application of a restrictive transfusion protocol did not result in an increased mortality. Safety and feasibility of the application of a restrictive transfusion protocol in patients on ECMO must further be evaluated in randomized controlled trials.
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects and outcome of continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (cf-LVAD) therapy in patients with preoperative acute hepatic failure. The study design was a retrospective review of prospectively collected data. Included were 42 patients who underwent cf-LVAD implantation (64.3% HeartMate II, 35.7% HeartWare) between July 2007 and May 2013 with preoperative hepatic failure defined as elevation of greater than or equal to two liver function parameters above twice the upper normal range. ⋯ The mean preoperative modified Model for Endstage Liver Disease excluding international normalized ratio score was 16.03 ± 5.57, which improved significantly after cf-LVAD implantation to 10.62 ± 5.66 (P < 0.001) at 7 days and 5.83 ± 4.98 (P < 0.001) at 30 days postoperatively. One-year and 5-year survival was 75.9 and 48.1%, respectively. 21.4% of the patients underwent LVAD explantation for myocardial recovery, 16.7% were successfully transplanted, and 7.1% underwent LVAD exchange for device failure over the follow-up period. Patients with preexisting acute hepatic failure are reasonable candidates for cf-LVAD implantation, with excellent rates of recovery and survival, suggesting that cf-LVAD therapy should not be denied to patients merely on grounds of "preoperative elevated liver enzymes/hepatopathy."