Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Sep 2020
Multicenter StudyOutcomes of Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Patients Requiring Multiple Episodes of Support.
This study describes the largest North American single-institution experience with adult patients requiring multiple extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) runs in the same admission and aims to describe outcomes of survival and complication rates in this patient population. ⋯ Fourteen of 326 patients in the authors' VA ECMO database required additional ECMO therapy after decannulation; this represents at least 1 to 2 cases per year at higher-volume centers. Despite the small number of patients in this retrospective review, it seems that certain patients are reasonable candidates for additional ECMO therapy should their cardiopulmonary function again decline. The findings of renal replacement therapy and infection being more common during a second ECMO run are logical, but larger cohorts (ideally multicenter or from within the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry) are required to validate these preliminary findings.