The Journal of extra-corporeal technology
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J Extra Corpor Technol · Mar 2013
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: beneficial strategy for lung transplant recipients.
The role of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as a therapeutic strategy has been very well documented for over a decade now with consistently positive remarks. The aim of the present study was analyzing the outcome of ECMO application in our lung transplant program, especially the feasibility and safety of our ECMO approach. Therefore, we retrospectively analyzed the data of 15 patients recipients requiring ECMO support. ⋯ At 28 days, the overall survival was 93% (14 of 15 patients) and 12 of these patients (80%) survived at least 6 months. Complications included acute renal insufficiency with temporary need of renal replacement therapy (53%), bleeding (33%), critical illness polyneuropathy (66%), and reversible thrombocytopenia (73%). Based on the evaluation of the patients in this analysis, ECMO seems to be a safe therapeutic approach in lung transplant recipients with severe respiratory failure directly after transplantation.
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J Extra Corpor Technol · Mar 2013
Use of del Nido cardioplegia solution and a low-prime recirculating cardioplegia circuit in pediatrics.
The evolution of myocardial protection techniques has been both the source of milestone advancements and controversial debate in cardiac surgery. Our institution has modified a low-prime cardioplegia system (CPS) and adopted a single-dose cardioplegia solution (del Nido cardioplegia) for our congenital heart disease population. The goal of this article is to describe our CPS and outline our myocardial protection protocol. These techniques have allowed us to minimize circuit surface area, operate uninterrupted, and safely protect the myocardium during extended ischemic periods.
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J Extra Corpor Technol · Mar 2013
Extracorporeal life support during cardiac arrest resuscitation in a porcine model of ventricular fibrillation.
Implementation barriers for extracorporeal life support in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) include initiation delay and candidate selection. We explored ischemia duration, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) duration, and physiologic variables that discriminated animals with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). We instrumented eight female swine (31.9 +/- 9.8 kg) with femoral artery and external jugular vein cannula. ⋯ Amplitude spectrum area (AMSA) was superior at the end of CPR (-2.0 +/- 1.8 vs. -5.0 +/- 1.4; p = .04) in animals successfully resuscitated. In a porcine OHCA model, MAP and CPP at the beginning and end of CPR were higher in animals successfully resuscitated. AMSA was superior at the end of CPR in animals successfully resuscitated.
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J Extra Corpor Technol · Dec 2012
The role of extracorporeal life support in acute myocarditis: a bridge to recovery?
Acute myocardial failure associated with myocarditis is highly lethal. Left ventricular assist device support for these patients has been advocated to decompress the left ventricle and facilitate myocardial remodeling and recovery. Concerns exist regarding the ability of venoarterial (VA) extracorporeal life support (ECLS) to decompress the left ventricle and allow effective myocardial recovery. ⋯ One patient failed ECLS weaning and required biventricular VAD support secondary to severe myocardial necrosis from giant cell myocarditis and was transplanted, one died, all others are alive at follow-up. ECLS is safe and effective to treat acute myocardial failure and may be used to obtain myocardial recovery in certain subsets. We devised a decision algorithm for ECLS deployment in this patient cohort and routinely use ECLS.