Organ donation from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and ventricular assist devices in Victoria, Australia: Characteristics and trends.

Hybrid and parallel extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuits

Pediatric solid organ transplantation is challenging due to the limited availability of suitable organs resulting in an increasing waitlist. Many pediatric transplant recipients receive organs from deceased donors, often after neurologic determination of death. Organ donation from patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) at the time of death has been described in adults, offering the potential for donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD) with minimal ischemia time. DCDD on ECMO requires a coordinated and seamless approach from a multidisciplinary team for clinical care. In this article, we aim to describe our institutional DCDD practice guidelines, which involve withdrawing ECMO support in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) or the operating room (OR), followed by organ procurement after the declaration of death, and our experience with DCDD in 2 pediatric patients on ECMO. In case 1, withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies (WOLST) occurred in the PICU with transport to the OR for DCDD. In case 2, both WOLST and DCDD occurred in the OR. In the described context, ECMO provided hemodynamic stability with minimal warm ischemia time for the donated organs. This approach offers a novel resource for pediatric organ transplantation, potentially expanding the pediatric donor pool.

Invasive Hemodynamic and Physiologic Considerations in Patients Undergoing Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Perioperative Management of Adult Surgical Patients on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support

With the evolution of medical technology, particularly resuscitation techniques, our way of understanding and determining death has been challenged. Donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD) is one of these challenges. This thesis analyses in detail, through five articles, the determination of death in the context of DCDD. Notions of permanency and irreversibility, applied in the definition of death, are discussed. This distinction permits a better understanding of the non-congruence between our way of determining death in practice, i.e. based on permanent cessation of vital functions, and our understanding of death, which is usually based on their irreversible cessation. The dead donor rule (DDR) is also discussed, as it is a fundamental norm defended in transplantation medicine. The dead donor rule states that donors should not be killed for and by organ donation. Several critics argue that DCDD programs violate the DDR. Some of the articles presented in this thesis analyse the relevance of those critiques. This repertoire of articles offers a practical analysis of DCDD, based on different DCDD protocols, such as heart DCDD, uncontrolled and controlled DCDD, and the use of ECMO in DCDD. It also offers a more in depth analysis of the concept of death, suggesting the possibility of another way to determine death in the context of DCDD: the brain circulation determination of death.

The utility of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support for adult patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) remains poorly understood. We aimed to characterize a cohort of adult individuals with SCD in the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) registry who underwent venoarterial (VA) or venovenous (VV) ECMO treatment, assess clinical outcomes, and determine predictors of mortality. This multicenter, retrospective study evaluated in-hospital mortality and clinical outcomes such as bleeding and thrombotic events (BTEs) of adult patients in the ELSO registry with SCD-associated International Classification of Diseases, 9th and 10th Revision, Clinical Modification codes. Post hoc multivariable logistic regression model was developed assessing predictors of mortality. Of 206 included patients, 126 and 80 received cannulation for VA ECMO or VV ECMO, respectively. Eighty-three patients (40.3%) were discharged alive; in-hospital survival was 25.5% and 61.1% for VA and VV ECMO, respectively (P < .001). BTEs were common during VA (45.6%) and VV (33.8%) ECMO support. There was significant increase in BTE incidence for nonsurvivors compared with survivors with VA ECMO (55.4% vs 26.5%; P < .001) and VV ECMO (58.1% vs 18.4%; P = .01). Male sex, increased age, pre-extracorporeal life support (ECLS) cardiac arrest, cannulation for extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR), and elevated lactate were predictive of in-hospital mortality in the VA ECMO cohort. In conclusion, in adult patients with SCD, in-hospital survival was significantly lower with VA ECMO than VV ECMO. Male sex, increased age, eCPR support, elevated lactate, and pre-ECLS arrest were strongest indicators of VA ECMO mortality. Bleeding and thrombotic complications have an association with inpatient mortality for those treated with ECMO.

Venovenous Versus Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Adult Patients With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Requiring Precannulation Hemodynamic Support: A Review of the ELSO Registry

Increasing Opportunity for Lung Transplant in Interstitial Lung Disease With Pulmonary Hypertension

The optimal timing for pursuing tracheostomy in patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation with either veno-arterial (VA) or veno-venous (VV) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a discussion of risk versus benefit. Depending on the etiology, cardiothoracic surgical patients carry some of the highest risk for respiratory failure postprocedure.Given that patients with end-stage cardiopulmonary status may be fraught with substantial comorbidities, it is critically important to manage the risk-benefit profile of performing a tracheostomy procedure on a patient requiring ECMO support.These cohorts have risk factors that may depend on each patient's inflammatory state, lung de-recruitment peri-procedure and postprocedure and bleeding requiring transfusions to name a few.We provide a descriptive analysis of ECMO patients on both VA and VV configurations who survived to hospital discharge receiving tracheostomy either during or after their ECMO course. A retrospective single-institutional study collected all consecutive patients age 18 and above who received any form of ECMO between 2016 and 2020. Five hundred forty-fivepatients were screened based on having received ECMO. Patients with mixed EMCO modality were excluded due to heterogeneity of disease process. A total of 521 patients received either VV or VA ECMO. A total of 54 patients received tracheostomy and had sufficiently clean data for analysis. Tracheostomy patients were compared based on survival to discharge, tracheostomy surgical complications, ECMO duration, ECMO configuration, inotrope and vasopressor use, transfusion rates, total ventilator days, total days on intravenoussedation, and history of cardiotomy or heart transplant were assessed. Baseline characteristics of race, age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) were also collected. A total of 54 patients received tracheostomy. Twenty-nineof those patients received tracheostomy during the course of their ECMO, of whom 13 were on VV ECMO, 16 on VA ECMO. Another 25 patients underwent tracheostomy after successful ECMO explant; 8 of those were VV ECMO with the remaining 17 were on VA ECMO before explantation, with mean delay to tracheostomy, 10 and 19 days after explant between both modalities, respectively. A statistically significantly greater proportion of VV ECMO patients received a tracheostomy at any point versusVA ECMO patients (25.93% vs. 8.35%, p ≤ .0001). No statistically significant difference was noted in timing of tracheostomy when stratified by EMCO modality (VA 51.51% after explant vs. VV 38.10% after explant, p = .33).There was a greater frequency of minor tracheostomy complications in patients who were on ECMO at the time of their tracheostomy (p = .014) than in those who received their tracheostomy after being explanted. However, these minor complications did not contribute to a change in survival to hospital discharge (p = .58). Similarly, the small number of major complications (n = 13) did not impair survival to hospital discharge (p = .84).Finally, mean duration of ECMO was longer in those who received tracheostomy during ECMO versus after ECMO. (488.45 vs. 259.72 h, p < .01). Tracheostomy is known to increase patient mobility, clinical participation, and overall decrease in sedation use. Pursuing tracheostomy during ECMO is feasible, does not result in major bleeding, and is associated with only minor complications that overall do not decrease survival. While there is an increased duration of ECMO support in the tracheostomy cohort, this may be due to existing patient conditions, and may not be causal. Research is needed to further determine the external patient factors and specific timing to optimize both VV and VA ECMO courses. We hope that our analysis will pave the initial pathway for an evidence-based guideline on optimal timing of tracheostomy in ECMO patients, whether initiated during or after ECMO and taking into consideration ECMO configuration, its expected duration, and patient comorbidities.

Currently, there is scarcity of data on whether differences exist in clinical characteristics and outcomes of bloodstream infection (BSI) between venoarterial (VA) and venovenous (VV) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and whether they differ between Candida BSI and bacteremia in adult ECMO patients. We retrospectively reviewed data of patients who required ECMO for > 48 h and had BSIs while receiving ECMO between January 2015 and June 2020. Cases with a positive blood culture result within 24 h of ECMO implantation were excluded. We identified 94 (from 64 of 194 patients) and 38 (from 17 of 56 patients) BSI episodes under VA and VV ECMO, respectively. Fifty nine BSIs of VA ECMO (59/94, 62.8%) occurred in the first 2 weeks after ECMO implantation, whereas 24 BSIs of VV ECMO (24/38, 63.2%) occurred after 3 weeks of ECMO implantation. Gram-negative bacteremia (39/59, 66.1%) and gram-positive bacteremia (10/24, 41.7%) were the most commonly identified BSI types in the first 2 weeks after VA ECMO implantation and after 3 weeks of VV implantation, respectively. Timing of Candida BSI was early (6/11, 54.5% during the first 2 weeks) in VA ECMO and late (6/9, 66.7% after 3 weeks of initiation) in VV ECMO. Compared with bacteremia, Candida BSI showed no differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes during VA and VV ECMO, except the significant association with prior exposure to carbapenem in VA ECMO (vs. gram-negative bacteremia [P = 0.006], vs. gram-positive bacteremia [P = 0.03]). Our results suggest that ECMO modes may affect BSI clinical features and timing. In particular, Candida BSI occurrence during the early course of VA ECMO is not uncommon, especially in patients with prior carbapenem exposure; however, it usually occurs during the prolonged course of VV ECMO. Consequently, routine blood culture surveillance and empiric antifungal therapy might be warranted in targeted populations of adult ECMO patients, regardless of levels of inflammatory markers and severity scores.

Severe cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cannot be adequately managed with mechanical ventilation alone. The role and outcome of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in the management of COVID-19 is currently unclear. Eight COVID-19 patients have received ECMO support in Shanghai with seven with venovenous (VV) ECMO support and one veno arterial (VA) ECMO during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. As of March 25, 2020, four patients died (50% mortality), three patients (37.5%) were successfully weaned off ECMO after 22, 40, and 47 days support, respectively, but remain on mechanical ventilation. One patient is still on VV ECMO with mechanical ventilation. The partial pressure of oxygen/fractional of inspired oxygen ratio before ECMO initiation was between 54 and 76, and all were well below 100. The duration of mechanical ventilation before ECMO ranged from 4 to 21 days. Except the one emergent VA ECMO during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, other patients were on ECMO support for between 18 and 47 days. In conclusion, ensuring effective, timely, and safe ECMO support in COVID-19 is key to improving clinical outcomes. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support might be an integral part of the critical care provided for COVID-19 patients in centers with advanced ECMO expertise.

Donation After Circulatory Determination of Death Lung Transplantation for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Passing the Toughest Test.

There is increasing unmet need for solid organ donation. Alternative donor sources, such as donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD), are needed. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of DCDD on trends in pediatric organ donation and transplantation. Data were obtained from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network for US organ recipients and donors from 2001 to 2010 stratified according to age, organ, and deceased donor type (DCDD or donation after neurologic determination of death). Additional data included transplant wait-list removals due to death. From 2001 to 2010, pediatric organ transplant recipients increased from 1170 to 1475. Organs from DCDD donors were transplanted into children infrequently but increased from 1 to 31. Pediatric donation after neurologic determination of death decreased by 13% whereas DCDD increased by 174% (50 to 137). Recipients of pediatric grafts decreased from 3042 to 2751. Adults receiving grafts from pediatric donors decreased from 2243 to 1780; children receiving pediatric grafts increased from 799 to 971. Transplant recipients receiving pediatric DCDD grafts were few but increased annually from 50 to 128 adults and 0 to 9 children. Pediatric candidates dying waiting for an organ decreased from 262 to 110. From 2001 to 2010, children received more solid organ transplants and fewer children died waiting. Organ recovery from pediatric and adult DCDD donors increased. The number of pediatric recipients of DCDD grafts remains small. Adults primarily receive the direct benefit from pediatric DCDD but other changes in organ allocation have directly benefited children.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in infants with meconium aspiration syndrome: a decade of experience with venovenous ECMO

Despite the common occurrence of brain injury in patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, it is unclear which cannulation method carries a higher risk of brain injury. We compared the prevalence of brain injury between patients undergoing venoarterial and venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. PubMed and six other databases from inception to April 2020. Observational studies and randomized clinical trials in adult patients undergoing venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation reporting brain injury. Two independent reviewers extracted the data from the studies. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to pool data. Seventy-three studies (n = 16,063) met inclusion criteria encompassing 8,211 patients (51.2%) undergoing venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and 7,842 (48.8%) undergoing venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients had more overall brain injury compared with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (19% vs 10%; p = 0.002). Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients had more ischemic stroke (10% vs 1%; p < 0.001), hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (13% vs 1%; p < 0.001), and brain death (11% vs 1%; p = 0.001). In contrast, rates of intracerebral hemorrhage (6% vs 8%; p = 0.35) did not differ. Survival was lower in venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (48%) than venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (64%) (p < 0.001). After excluding studies that included extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, no significant difference was seen in the rate of overall acute brain injury between venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (13% vs 10%; p = 0.4). However, ischemic stroke (10% vs 1%; p < 0.001), hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (7% vs 1%; p = 0.02), and brain death (9% vs 1%; p = 0.005) remained more frequent in nonextracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation compared with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Brain injury was more common in venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation compared with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. While ischemic brain injury was more common in venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients, the rates of intracranial hemorrhage were similar between venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Further research on mechanism, timing, and effective monitoring of acute brain injury and its management is necessary.