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Objectives: Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) is the only curative treatment option for patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Massive endobronchial bleeding that precludes weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass is an often-fatal complication of PEA. The aim of this study was to determine whether short-term extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a safe and feasible procedure in patients with severe endobronchial bleeding., Methods: From January 2014 to December 2016, 396 patients (mean age 60 ± 18 years, 54.5% male) underwent PEA in our department. Patients with severe endobronchial hemorrhage at the time of weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) were switched to a heparin-coated venoarterial ECMO circuit. After full-dose protamine administration to restore normal coagulation, weaning from ECMO was attempted in the operating room., Results: In-hospital mortality was 2.3% (9/396 patients). Eight patients (2.0%) developed severe endobronchial bleeding classified as diffuse (n = 6) or localized (n = 2) by bronchoscopy. After reinstitution of CPB and subsequent switch to ECMO, the mean duration of ECMO support was 49 ± 13 minutes, and all 8 patients were weaned successfully from ECMO in the operating theater without further signs of endobronchial bleeding. One patient needed venovenous ECMO support for poor oxygenation 6 hours after surgery. Seven patients were discharged after a prolonged postoperative stay of 17.6 ± 4.1 days. One patient died. This new concept significantly reduced mortality compared with previous (2009-2013) ECMO support (P = .0406)., Conclusions: For patients with massive endobronchial bleeding after PEA, the intraoperative switch from CPB to venoarterial ECMO support with full-dose protamine administration is a new and potentially life-saving treatment concept., (Copyright © 2017 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) is the treatment of choice in surgically accessible chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). An important predictor of outcome is postsurgical residual pulmonary hypertension., Objective: We aimed to use the hemodynamic response during exercise before PEA as a measurement for the hemodynamic outcome 1 year after PEA., Methods: Between January 2011 and December 2013, 299 patients underwent PEA in our center. A total of 16 patients who were assessed by means of invasive hemodynamic measurements during exercise both at baseline and 1 year after PEA were retrospectively analyzed., Results: Pre-PEA mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) increased during exercise from 35.8 ± 7.6 to 53.8 ± 5.1 mm Hg, diastolic pulmonary arterial pressure (dPAP) from 21.5 ± 5.6 to 30.3 ± 9.6 mm Hg, cardiac output (CO) from 4.4 ± 0.8 to 6.5 ± 1.9 l/min and diastolic pulmonary gradient (DPG) from 14.6 ± 4.9 to 20.7 ± 12.7 mm Hg. Post-PEA mPAP increased from 23.7 ± 6.6 at rest to 43.2 ± 7.1 mm Hg, while CO increased to a higher extent from 5.1 ± 0.9 to 8.4 ± 1.9 l/min. There were significant correlations between pre-PEA DPG/CO and dPAP/CO slopes with the pulmonary vascular resistance (Spearman r = 0.578, p = 0.019, and r = 0.547, p = 0.028) and mPAP at rest after PEA (Spearman r = 0.581, p = 0.018, and r = 0.546, p = 0.028)., Conclusions: In CTEPH, the presurgical dynamic DPG/CO and dPAP/CO slopes during submaximal exercise are associated with the hemodynamic outcome 1 year after PEA.

Background: Six-minute walk test (6MWT) is routinely performed in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) before pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). However, the clinical relevance of heart rate response (ΔHR) and exercise-induced oxygen desaturation (EID) during 6MWT is remaining unknown.Methods: Patients undergoing PEA in our center between 03/2013-04/2014 were assessed prospectively with hemodynamic and exercise parameters prior to and 1 year post-PEA. Patients with symptomatic chronic thromboembolic disease (mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) <25 mmHg) and clinical relevant obstructive pulmonary disease were excluded. The following definitions were used: ΔHR = (peak HR - resting HR), percent heart rate reserve (HRR) = (peak HR -rest HR)/(220 - age - rest HR) x 100 and EID = SpO2 ≤88 %.Results: Thirty-seven patients (of 116 patients screened) with mPAP of 43.2 ± 8.7 mmHg, pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) of 605.5 ± 228.7 dyn*s/cm(5), cardiac index (CI) of 2.4 ± 0.5 l/min/m(2) and a 6MWT-distance of 404.7 ± 148.4 m and a peak VO2 of 12.3 ± 3.4 ml/min/kg prior to PEA were included. Baseline ΔHR during 6MWT was significantly associated with PVR 1 year post-PEA using linear regression analysis (r = 0.43, p = 0.01). Multivariate analysis indicated an association of HRR during 6MWT and residual PH with a hazard ratio of 1.06 (95 % Confidence interval for hazard ratio 0.99-1.14, p = 0.08). EID was observed commonly during 6MWT but no correlations to outcome parameters were found.Conclusions: This is the first prospective study to describe an association of ΔHR during 6MWT with pulmonary hemodynamics 1 year post-PEA. Our preliminary results indicate that HRR derived from 6MWT is of clinical significance. EID was commonly observed, albeit failed as a significant prognostic factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]