European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Dec 2019
Impella 5.0 therapy as a bridge-to-decision option for patients on extracorporeal life support with unclear neurological outcomes.
Peripheral venoarterial extracorporeal life support (ECLS) for the treatment of cardiogenic shock has shown to improve survival but is associated with complications. However, if the patient cannot be weaned from ECLS, their therapy options are limited. Although durable left ventricular assist device implantation might be an option in such cases, an unclear neurological outcome is often a contraindication. We hypothesize that Impella 5.0 therapy provides sufficient circulatory support while avoiding ECLS-related complications, thereby allowing for an adequate evaluation of a patient's neurological state and facilitating further treatment options. ⋯ Impella 5.0 support provides a bridge-to-decision option for patients following ECLS implantation and leads to left ventricular unloading. It allows further evaluation of a patient's neurological situation and facilitates further therapy. About two-thirds of patients survived with acceptable neurological outcomes.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Dec 2019
Results of primary biventricular support: an analysis of data from the EUROMACS registry.
The purpose of this study was to describe pre- and postoperative data from the EUROMACS registry with regard to indications, for and survival and complication rates of patients with primary continuous flow and pulsatile biventricular long-term assist devices (BiVADs) versus total artificial hearts (TAHs) or left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) + short-term right ventricular assist device (RVAD) implants. ⋯ The mortality rate after BiVAD support was high. Survival rates and adverse events were statistically not different among the investigated groups. In the future, composite study end points examining quality of life and adverse events beyond survival may help in shared decision-making prior to general mechanical circulatory support, particularly in patients with BiVAD implants.