ASAIO journal : a peer-reviewed journal of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs
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Review Case Reports
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in the management of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) may be used to support patients with severe hypoxemic respiratory failure refractory to conventional mechanical ventilation. However, because systemic anticoagulation is generally required to maintain circuit patency, severe bleeding is often seen as a contraindication to ECMO. We describe our center's experience with four patients who received ECMO for refractory hypoxemic respiratory failure due to diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH), a condition for which anticoagulation is typically contraindicated, and provide a review of the literature. ⋯ All four subjects (100%) survived to decannulation, and three subjects (75%) survived to discharge. The results from this case series, along with previously published data, suggest that ECMO is a reasonable management option for patients with DAH-associated severe, refractory hypoxemic respiratory failure. This is especially true in the era of modern ECMO technology where lower levels of anticoagulation are able to maintain circuit patency while minimizing bleeding risk.
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Recirculation, a phenomenon in which reinfused oxygenated blood is withdrawn by the drainage cannula without passing through the systemic circulation, decreases the efficiency with which venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) provides oxygenation. The precise amount of recirculation may be difficult to quantify. ⋯ Several techniques, including the use of dual-lumen cannulae, have been successful in minimizing recirculation in venovenous ECMO. This article will provide an overview of the factors that affect recirculation, methods that may be used to quantify recirculation, and interventions that may reduce recirculation, thereby increasing ECMO efficiency.
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Experience and results with VV-ECMO for severe acute respiratory failure: weaning versus nonweaning.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains an unsolved problem in the intensive care unit (ICU), which can be treated with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO). We summarized retrospectively collected data from an institutional experience with VV-ECMO in patients with severe acute respiratory failure and identified the clinical parameters associated with successful ECMO weaning. Among the 45 cases who received ECMO for pneumonia (n = 19), exacerbation of interstitial lung disease (n = 11), ARDS secondary to sepsis (n = 8), aspiration pneumonitis (n = 2), postoperative ARDS (n = 3), and others (n = 2), 21 (46.7%) were successfully weaned from ECMO. ⋯ Bleeding complication rates were similar between the two groups. High PLT counts at ICU admission and the day immediately before initiating ECMO might play a key role in successful weaning of VV-ECMO for severe acute respiratory failure. Further studies should evaluate the proper target PLT level to enhance ECMO outcomes.
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The usual duration of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome is 7-10 days. Prolonged duration ECMO (defined as greater than 14 days) is increasingly being documented with native lung recovery or as a bridge to lung transplantation. ⋯ As critical care improves, prolonged ECMO will continue to pose unique technological and ethical challenges that test our expectations of this treatment modality. There is a critical need for diagnostic modalities to provide objective assessment of native lung recovery in patients requiring prolonged duration ECMO.