Response by Schrage and Westermann to Letters Regarding Article, “Left Ventricular Unloading Is Associated With Lower Mortality in Patients With Cardiogenic Shock Treated With Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Results From an International, Multicenter Cohort Study”

Background: Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is increasingly used to treat cardiogenic shock. However, VA-ECMO might hamper myocardial recovery. The Impella unloads the left ventricle. This study aimed to evaluate whether left ventricular unloading in patients with cardiogenic shock treated with VA-ECMO was associated with lower mortality. Methods: Data from 686 consecutive patients with cardiogenic shock treated with VA-ECMO with or without left ventricular unloading using an Impella at 16 tertiary care centers in 4 countries were collected. The association between left ventricular unloading and 30-day mortality was assessed by Cox regression models in a 1:1 propensity score–matched cohort. Results: Left ventricular unloading was used in 337 of the 686 patients (49%). After matching, 255 patients with left ventricular unloading were compared with 255 patients without left ventricular unloading. In the matched cohort, left ventricular unloading was associated with lower 30-day mortality (hazard ratio, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.63–0.98]; P =0.03) without differences in various subgroups. Complications occurred more frequently in patients with left ventricular unloading: severe bleeding in 98 (38.4%) versus 45 (17.9%), access site–related ischemia in 55 (21.6%) versus 31 (12.3%), abdominal compartment in 23 (9.4%) versus 9 (3.7%), and renal replacement therapy in 148 (58.5%) versus 99 (39.1%). Conclusions: In this international, multicenter cohort study, left ventricular unloading was associated with lower mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock treated with VA-ECMO, despite higher complication rates. These findings support use of left ventricular unloading in patients with cardiogenic shock treated with VA-ECMO and call for further validation, ideally in a randomized, controlled trial.

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Early veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is associated with lower mortality in patients who have severe hypoxemic respiratory failure: A retrospective multicenter cohort study

Journal of Critical Care ◽

10.1016/j.jcrc.2016.01.010 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 ◽

pp. 169-173 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Hussein D. Kanji ◽

Jessica McCallum ◽

Monica Norena ◽

Hubert Wong ◽

Donald E. Griesdale ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Respiratory Failure ◽

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ◽

Lower Mortality ◽

Multicenter Cohort Study ◽

Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure ◽

Membrane Oxygenation ◽

Multicenter Cohort

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Anti-Xa activity and hemorrhagic events under extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO): a multicenter cohort study

Critical Care ◽

10.1186/s13054-021-03554-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Richard Descamps ◽

Mouhamed D. Moussa ◽

Emmanuel Besnier ◽

Marc-Olivier Fischer ◽

Sébastien Preau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ◽

Univariate Analysis ◽

Hemorrhagic Complication ◽

Multicenter Cohort Study ◽

Membrane Oxygenation ◽

Multicenter Cohort ◽

Hemorrhagic Event ◽

Hemorrhagic Events ◽

Va Ecmo

Abstract Background Hemorrhagic events remain a major concern in patients under extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. We tested the association between anticoagulation levels and hemorrhagic events under ECMO using anti-Xa activity monitoring. Methods We performed a retrospective multicenter cohort study in three ECMO centers. All adult patients treated with veno-venous (VV)- or veno-arterial (VA)-ECMO in 6 intensive care units between September 2017 and August 2019 were included. Anti-Xa activities were collected until a hemorrhagic event in the bleeding group and for the duration of ECMO in the non-bleeding group. All dosages were averaged to obtain means of anti-Xa activity for each patient, and patients were compared according to the occurrence or not of bleeding. Results Among 367 patients assessed for eligibility, 121 were included. Thirty-five (29%) presented a hemorrhagic complication. In univariate analysis, anti-Xa activities were significantly higher in the bleeding group than in the non-bleeding group, both for the mean anti-Xa activity (0.38 [0.29–0.67] vs 0.33 [0.22–0.42] IU/mL; p = 0.01) and the maximal anti-Xa activity (0.83 [0.47–1.46] vs 0.66 [0.36–0.91] IU/mL; p = 0.05). In the Cox proportional hazard model, mean anti-Xa activity was associated with bleeding (p = 0.0001). By Kaplan–Meier analysis with the cutoff value at 0.46 IU/mL obtained by ROC curve analysis, the probability of survival under ECMO without bleeding was significantly lower when mean anti-Xa was > 0.46 IU/mL (p = 0.0006). Conclusion In critically ill patients under ECMO, mean anti-Xa activity was an independent risk factor for hemorrhagic complications. Anticoagulation targets could be revised downward in both VV- and VA-ECMO.

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Efficacy of left ventricular unloading strategies during venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in patients with cardiogenic shock: a protocol for a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047046 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. e047046

Author(s):

Pengbin Zhang ◽

Shilin Wei ◽

Kerong Zhai ◽

Jian Huang ◽

Xingdong Cheng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ◽

Cardiogenic Shock ◽

Bayesian Network ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Left Ventricular ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Membrane Oxygenation ◽

Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ◽

Patient Consent ◽

Va Ecmo

IntroductionVenoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) has been widely used for patients with refractory cardiogenic shock. A common side effect of this technic is the resultant increase in left ventricular (LV) afterload which could potentially aggravate myocardial ischaemia, delay ventricular recovery and increase the risk of pulmonary congestion. Several LV unloading strategies have been proposed and implemented to mitigate these complications. However, it is still indistinct that which one is the best choice for clinical application. This Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA) aims to compare the efficacy of different LV unloading strategies during VA-ECMO.Methods and analysisPubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform will be explored from their inception to 31 December 2020. Random controlled trials and cohort studies that compared different LV unloading strategies during VA-ECMO will be included in this study. The primary outcome will be in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcomes will include neurological complications, haemolysis, bleeding, limb ischaemia, renal failure, gastrointestinal complications, sepsis, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of intensive care unit and hospital stays. Pairwise and NMA will respectively be conducted using Stata (V.16, StataCorp) and Aggregate Data Drug Information System (V.1.16.5), and the cumulative probability will be used to rank the included LV unloading strategies. The risk of bias will be conducted using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool or Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale according to their study design. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis and publication bias assessment will be performed. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation will be conducted to explore the quality of evidence.Ethics and disseminationEither ethics approval or patient consent is not necessary, because this study will be based on literature. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020165093.

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