Artificial organs
-
The effectiveness of intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) combined with venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) in patients with cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest remains controversial. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the short-term clinical outcomes of IABP combined with VA-ECMO versus VA-ECMO alone. We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for English language articles published from inception to August 18, 2018. ⋯ In the one-way sensitivity analysis for estimating the effect of each study on mortality, omission of each study did not make a significant difference. Furthermore, the proportion of patients weaned from VA-ECMO was significantly higher in IABP combined VA-ECMO group than in the VA-ECMO alone group (RR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.21-1.35; P < 0.001; 77.9% vs. 61.2%). IABP combined with VA-ECMO could improve success rate of weaning from VA-ECMO, but did not reduce in-hospital mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest.
-
Brain injury associated with deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) has been recognized in patients with congenital heart diseases and those undergoing aortic arch surgeries. However, the preclinical investigation of long-term cerebral injury and recovery mechanisms related to DHCA has been restricted to a satisfactory recovery animal model with a determined recovery time. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a long-term surviving DHCA model without blood priming in rats, in order to investigate the pathophysiology of long-term complications in further studies. ⋯ Blood gas analysis and hemodynamic parameters at each time point were normal, and vital signs of all rats were stable. Histopathologic deficits in the hippocampus (pathological score, surviving hippocampal neurons, and Ki67-positive neurons) manifested after 30 minutes of DHCA, which persisted for at least 14 days and recovered after 30 days. A novel and simple long-term recovery model of DHCA in rats was established in the present study, and histopathologic deficits were observed after clinically relevant 30-minute DHCA durations, in order to determine the 30-day recovery time frame.
-
Static cold storage (SCS) and hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP) are two primary options for renal allograft preservation. Compared with SCS, HMP decreased the incidence of delayed graft function (DGF) and protected graft function. However, more evidence is still needed to prove the advantages of the HMP. ⋯ There was no significant difference in other endpoints. HMP might be a more desirable method of preservation for kidney grafts. The long-term outcomes of kidney allografts stored by hypothermic machine perfusion still need to be further investigated.
-
In this work we aimed to evaluate the evolution of our surgical experience with the implantation of a continuous flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD), from the original full sternotomy approach to less invasive surgical strategies including mini-sternotomy and/or mini-thoracotomies. We reviewed all consecutive patients implanted with a continuous flow LVAD at our Institute. To exclude the possible bias related to the device used, out of 91 collected LVADs implants, we selected only those patients (n = 42) who received, between 2012 and 2015, the HeartWare HVAD. ⋯ The causal analysis, adjusted by propensity score weighting baseline data and sample size, showed that left mini-thoracotomy with outflow anastomosis to the left axillary artery resulted in a significantly reduced rate of post implant right heart failure (P < 0.01), and mechanical ventilation time (P = 0.049). To conclude, in our series, by applying mini-invasive implant techniques in the majority of cases, mid-term survival of continuous flow LVADs in severely compromised patients was satisfactory. In the adjusted analysis, the left anterior mini-thoracotomy with outflow anastomosis to the left axillary artery showed the most favorable results.