Factors associated with acute limb ischemia in cardiogenic shock and downstream clinical outcomes: Insights from the Cardiogenic Shock Working Group

Abstract

BackgroundThere are limited data depicting the prevalence and ramifications of acute limb ischemia (ALI) among cardiogenic shock (CS) patients. MethodsWe employed data from the Cardiogenic Shock Working Group (CSWG), a consortium including 33 sites. We constructed a multi-variable logistic regression to examine the association between clinical factors and ALI, we generated another logistic regression model to ascertain the association of ALI with mortality. ResultsThere were 7,070 patients with CS and 399 (5.6%) developed ALI. Patients with ALI were more likely to be female (40.4% versus 29.4%) and have peripheral arterial disease (13.8% versus 8.3%). Stratified by maximum SCAI shock stage, the rates of ALI were stage B 0.0%, stage C 1.8%, stage D 4.1%, and stage E 10.3%. Factors associated with higher risk for ALI included: peripheral vascular disease OR 2.24 (95% CI: 1.53 – 3.23; p < 0.01) and ≥ 2 mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices OR 1.66 (95% CI: 1.24 – 2.21, p < 0.01). ALI was highest for VA-ECMO patients (11.6%) or VA-ECMO + IABP/Impella CP (16.6%) yet use of distal perfusion catheters was less than 50%. Mortality was 38.0% for CS patients without ALI but 57.4% for CS patients with ALI. ALI was significantly associated with mortality, adjusted OR 1.40 (95% CI 1.01 – 1.95, p < 0.01). ConclusionsThe rate of ALI was 6% among CS patients. Factors most associated with ALI include peripheral vascular disease and multiple MCS devices. The downstream ramifications of ALI were dire with a considerably higher risk of mortality.