ECMO

The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for respiratory failure in adults is growing rapidly, driven in large part by advances in technology, which have made ECMO devices easier to implement and safer and more efficient. Accompanying this increase in use is a nearly exponential increase in ECMO-related literature. However, the great majority of the literature is composed of retrospective observational data, often in the form of single-center studies with relatively small numbers of subjects. The overall lack of high-quality data, including prospective randomized trials, makes it difficult to justify the rate at which ECMO use is increasing and calls attention to the need for more rigorously designed studies...

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) has become well established technique of the treatment of severe acute respiratory failure (Veno-Venous ECMO) or circulatory failure (Veno-Arterial ECMO) which enables effective blood oxygenation and carbon dioxide removal for several weeks. Veno-Venous ECMO (V-V ECMO ) is a lifesaving treatment of patients in whom severe ARDS makes artificial lung ventilation unlikely to provide satisfactory blood oxygenation for preventing further vital organs damage and progression to death...

BACKGROUND: We evaluate the clinical feasibility of spontaneous breathing on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and the interactions between artificial and native lungs in patients bridged to lung transplant or with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or acute respiratory distress syndrome. METHODS: The clinical course of a total of 48 patients was analyzed. Twenty-three of 48 patients were enrolled in the prospective study (nine bridged to lung transplant, six COPD, and eight acute respiratory distress syndrome)...

OBJECTIVE: The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in adults with respiratory failure and sepsis is steadily increasing, but the knowledge on long-term survival in this group is scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate the 5-year survival rates and causes of late death in this group of patients. DESIGN: Single-center retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. PATIENTS: Adult patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for respiratory failure and sepsis between the service being established for adults in 1995 and December 2013...

Conventionally, a substantial number of patients with acute respiratory failure require mechanical ventilation (MV) to avert catastrophe of hypoxemia and hypercapnia. However, mechanical ventilation per se can cause lung injury, accelerating the disease progression. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) provides an alternative to rescue patients with severe respiratory failure that conventional mechanical ventilation fails to maintain adequate gas exchange. The physiology behind ECMO and its interaction with MV were reviewed...

RATIONALE: There are limited data on physiotherapy during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). OBJECTIVES: We sought to characterize physiotherapy delivered to patients with ARDS supported with ECMO, as well as to evaluate the association of this therapeutic modality with mortality. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all adult patients with ARDS supported with ECMO at our institution between 2010 and 2015...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Extracorporeal respiratory support in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome is applied either as rescue maneuver for life-threatening hypoxemia or as a tool to reduce the harm of mechanical ventilation. Depending on the blood and gas flow, extracorporeal support may completely substitute the natural lung as a gas exchanger (high-flow venovenous bypass) or reduce the need for mechanical ventilation, enabling the removal of a fraction of the metabolically produced CO2...

BACKGROUND: Recent advances in the technology of extracorporeal respiratory assist systems have led to a renewed interest in extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCOR). The Hemolung is a new, low-flow, venovenous, minimally invasive, partial ECCOR device that has recently been introduced to clinical practice to aid in avoiding invasive ventilation or to facilitate lung-protective ventilation. OBJECTIVE: We report our early experience on use, efficacy and safety of the Hemolung in three Australian intensive care units...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article summarizes the results of past and more recent series on venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) and discusses its potential indications beyond the rescue of patients with lung failure refractory to conventional mechanical ventilation. RECENT FINDINGS: Successful VV-ECMO treatment in patients with extremely severe influenza A(H1N1)-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and positive results of the CESAR trial have led to an exponential use of the technology in recent years...

The use of extracorporeal support is expanding quickly in adult respiratory failure. Extracorporeal gas exchange is an accepted rescue therapy for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in select patients. Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal is also being investigated as a preventative, preemptive, and management platform in patients with respiratory failure other than severe ARDS. The non-ARDS patient population is much larger, so the potential for rapid growth is high. This article hopes to inform decisions about the use of extracorporeal support by increasing understanding concerning the past and present practice of extracorporeal gas exchange...

Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) has known a widespread application over the last decade and is now an effective and valuable therapeutic option in refractory cardiogenic shock of various etiologies. In this subgroup of critically ill and unstable patients in cardiogenic shock, VA-ECMO allows, on the one hand, temporary hemodynamic stabilization with improvement of end-organ function and, on the other hand, gives the time to perform complementary diagnostic exams and to decide the therapeutic strategy in these high-risk candidates for immediate long-term mechanical circulatory support (MCS) implantation...

Despite the increasing use of venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to treat severe respiratory failure, recirculation remains a common complication that may result in severe hypoxemia and end-organ damage. The present review, therefore, examines updated evidence for the causes, measurement, and management of recirculation. Six electronic databases were searched from their dates of inception to January 2016, and 38 relevant studies were selected for analysis. This review revealed that, currently, recirculation is typically calculated from measurement of blood oxygen saturations, although limited evidence suggests that oxygen content may provide a more accurate measure...

In the past the only option for the treatment of respiratory failure due to acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (aeCOPD) was invasive mechanical ventilation. In recent decades, the potential for extracorporeal carbon dioxide (CO2) removal has been realized. We review the various types of extracorporeal CO2 removal, outline the optimal use of these therapies for aeCOPD, and make suggestions for future controlled trials. We also describe the advantages and requirements for an ideal long-term ambulatory CO2 removal system for palliation of COPD...

Influenza infection in the adult immunocompromised hosts can have severe presentations and rapid progression to lower respiratory tract infection requiring mechanical ventilation, and it even can progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Little is known about the role of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for management in this setting. We present a review of the current literature on the subject.

In thoracic surgery, extracorporeal life support (ECLS) techniques are performed to (I) provide a short to mid term extracorporeal mechanical support; (II) realize the gas exchanges; and (III)-depending the configuration of the circuit-substitute the failed heart function. The objective of this review is to describe the rational of the different ECLS techniques used in thoracic surgery and lung transplantation (LTx) with a specific attention to the vascular access. Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO) is the most common ECLS technique used in thoracic surgery and represents the best strategy to support the lung function...

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a modified form of cardiopulmonary bypass. Although early trials were plagued by severe bleeding and high rates of death, subsequent experience with neonates found good survival, and ECMO became an important tool in the care of critically ill infants with respiratory failure. Since the 1980s, expansion to other groups (children, patients with cardiac disease, etc) followed as experience was obtained. Today, there is a rapid growth of ECMO, especially in the adult population...

The implementation of extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) as one of the extracorporeal life support system is getting more attention today. Thus, the objectives of this paper are to study the clinical practice of commercial ECCO2R system, current trend of its development and also the perspective on future improvement that can be done to the existing ECCO2R system. The strength of this article lies in its review scope, which focuses on the commercial ECCO2R therapy in the market based on membrane lung and current investigation to improve the efficiency of the ECCO2R system, in terms of surface modification by carbonic anhydrase (CA) immobilization technique and respiratory electrodialysis (R-ED)...

Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (vv-ECMO) has been classically employed as a rescue therapy for patients with respiratory failure not treatable with conventional mechanical ventilation alone. In recent years, however, the timing of ECMO initiation has been readdressed and ECMO is often started earlier in the time course of respiratory failure. Furthermore, some centers are starting to use ECMO as a first line of treatment, i.e., as an alternative to invasive mechanical ventilation in awake, non-intubated, spontaneously breathing patients with respiratory failure ("awake" ECMO)...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: An increasing number of patients are placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for respiratory or cardiac failure. Sound understanding of physiology and configuration of ECMO is essential for proper management. This review covers different monitoring parameters and tools for patients supported with different types of ECMO. RECENT FINDINGS: Emphasis is placed on monitoring saturations at different sites depending on type of ECMO support...

Management of gas exchange using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in respiratory failure is very different than management when the patient is dependent on mechanical ventilation. All the gas exchange occurs in the membrane lung, and the arterial oxygenation is the result of mixing the ECMO blood with the native venous blood. To manage patients on ECMO, it is essential to understand the physiology described in this essay.