ASAIO journal : a peer-reviewed journal of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs
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Case Reports Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Rapid activation of the alternative pathway of complement by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is an effective therapy for patients with severe respiratory distress syndromes. However, an inflammatory response has been observed with the use of this therapy. ⋯ In both patients there was intense activation of complement that peaked 1 hour (mean SC5b-9 increase to 1135% of baseline) after the start of ECMO and occurred predominantly via the alternative pathway (Bb production). Early and acute complement activation may be responsible for the initiation of the inflammatory response that has been observed in patients treated with ECMO.
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The first intravascular oxygenator and carbon dioxide (CO2) removal device (IVOX), conceived by Mortensen, was capable of removing 30% of CO2 production of an adult at normocapnia with a measurable reduction in ventilator requirements. Through studies of mathematical modeling, an ex vivo venovenous bypass circuit to model the human vena cava, animal models of severe smoke inhalation injury, and patients with acute respiratory failure, the practice of permissive hypercapnia has been established to enhance CO2 removal by IVOX. By allowing the blood pCO2 to rise gradually, the CO2 excretion by IVOX can be linearly increased in a 1:1 relationship. ⋯ Increased surface area with more fibers and enhanced mixing by increased fiber crimping in new prototypes of IVOX significantly increased CO2 removal. Other groups have used alternative designs to address the limited performance of intravascular gas exchange devices. With improved design and patient management, clinically meaningful gas exchange and reduction in mechanical ventilatory support may be achieved during treatment of severe respiratory failure.