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Aim: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) has been shown to have survival benefit in patients who had in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). However, limited data are available on the role of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Therefore, we aimed to investigate clinical outcomes and predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients who had OHCA and who underwent ECPR., Methods: From January 2004 to December 2013, 235 patients who received ECPR were enrolled in a retrospective, single-centre, observational registry. Among those, we studied 35 adult patients who had OHCA. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality., Results: Among 35 patients with a median age of 55 years (IQR 45-64), 29 (82.9%) of whom were male, ECMO implantation was successful in all and 10 patients (28.6%) lived to be discharged from the hospital. In 18 cases (51.4%), first monitored rhythms were identified as ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation, that is, shockable rhythm. There were no differences between in-hospital survivors and non-survivors regarding median time of arrest to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (survivors: 23.5 min (IQR 18.8-27.3) vs non-survivors: 20.0 min (IQR 15.0-24.5); p=0.41) and median time of CPR to ECMO pump-on (survivors: 61.0 min (IQR 39.8-77.8) vs non-survivors 50.0 min (IQR 44.0-72.5); p=0.50). In 23 cases (65.7%), ischaemic heart disease was diagnosed and successful revascularisation was achieved in a significantly higher proportion of the survivor group (8/10 (80.0%)) than the non-survivor group (8/25 (32.0%)) (p=0.02). Witnessed arrest (HR=3.96; 95% CI 1.38 to 11.41; p=0.01), bystander CPR (HR=4.05; 95% CI 1.56 to 10.42; p=0.004) and successful revascularisation (HR=2.90; 95% CI 1.23 to 6.86; p=0.02) were independent predictors of survival-to-discharge in patients who had OHCA in univariate Cox regression analysis., Conclusion: Survival rate for ECPR in the setting of OHCA remains poor. Our findings suggest that ECMO implantation should be very carefully considered in highly selected patients who had OHCA with little no-flow time and a reversible cause., (Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.)

To investigate the appropriateness of the current vancomycin dosing strategy in adult patients with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), between March 2013 and November 2013, patients who were treated with vancomycin while on ECMO were enrolled. Control group consisted of 60 patients on vancomycin without ECMO, stayed in medical intensive care unit during the same study period and with the same exclusion criteria. Early trough levels were obtained within the fourth dosing, and maintenance levels were measured at steady state. A total of 20 patients were included in the analysis in ECMO group. Sixteen patients received an initial intravenous dose of 1.0 g vancomycin followed by 1.0 g every 12 hours. The non-steady state trough level of vancomycin after starting administration was subtherapeutic in 19 patients (95.00%) in ECMO group as compared with 40 patients (66.67%) in the control group (p = 0.013). Vancomycin clearance was 1.27±0.51 mL/min/kg, vancomycin clearance/creatinine clearance ratio was 0.90 ± 0.37, and elimination rate constant was 0.12 ± 0.04 h-1. Vancomycin dosingfrequency and total daily dose were significantly increased after clinical pharmacokinetic services of the pharmacist based on calculated pharmacokinetic parameters (from 2.10 ± 0.72 to 2.90 ± 0.97 times/day, p = 0.002 and from 32.54 ± 8.43 to 42.24 ± 14.62mg/kg, p = 0.014) in ECMO group in contrast with those (from 2.11 ± 0.69 to 2.37 ± 0.86 times/day, p = 0.071 and from 33.91 ± 11.85 to 31.61 ± 17.50 mg/kg, p = 0.350) in the control group.Although the elimination rate for vancomycin was similar with population parameter of non ECMO patients, the current dosing strategy of our institution for vancomycinin our ICU was not sufficient to achieve the target trough in the initial period in most patients receiving ECMO.

Physical therapy (PT) and early mobilization for critically ill patients have been popularized to decrease the length of hospital stay and to improve the quality of life after discharge. We reviewed our experience of PT and active mobilization for patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in terms of its technical feasibility and safety. Study endpoints were safety events during PT and PT interruptions due to unstable vital signs. Of the eight patients, one patient (12.5%) had venoarterial ECMO, seven patients (87.5%) had venovenous ECMO. Among total of 62 sessions including 31 sessions (50%) of passive range of motion and electrical muscle stimulation, 17 sessions (27.4%) were performed for patients who were sitting in bed or on the edge of bed, two sessions (3.2%) were for strengthening in sitting, 11 sessions (18%) were for standing or marching in place, one session (2%) was for walking. Eight sessions (13%) of sitting were supported with invasive mechanical ventilation. Three sessions (5%) were stopped due to tachycardia (n = 1) and tachypnea (n = 2). There was no clinically significant adverse event in patients. Thus, early PT and mobilization for patients on ECMO might be feasible and safe at an experienced ECMO center.

Objectives: The role of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) remains controversial in adult patients with refractory septic shock. We sought to describe the clinical outcomes of adult patients supported by ECMO during septic shock refractory to conventional treatment., Methods: We analysed consecutive adult patients with refractory septic shock, assisted by an ECMO system between January 2005 and December 2013 in a single-centre registry. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge., Results: A total of 32 patients (21 males) received ECMO support for refractory septic shock. Of these, 14 patients (43.8%) had undergone cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and 7 patients (21.9%) did not achieve the return of spontaneous circulation until initiation of ECMO flow. ECMO was weaned off successfully in 13 patients (40.6%) and 7 patients (21.9%) survived to hospital discharge. The survivors had lower peak lactate (4.5 vs 15.1 mmol/l, P = 0.03), lower Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment day 3 score (15 vs 18, P = 0.01) and higher peak troponin I (32.8 vs 3.7 ng/ml, P = 0.02) than the non-survivors. None of the patients (31.3%) in whom ECMO was initiated more than 30.5 h after onset of septic shock, survived. In multivariable-adjusted models, CPR [adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 4.61; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.55-13.69; P = 0.006] was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality after ECMO in patients with refractory septic shock. Higher peak troponin I > 15 ng/ml (adjusted HR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.12-0.97; P = 0.04) was associated with a lower risk of in-hospital mortality., Conclusions: Survival to hospital discharge remained low in adult patients with refractory septic shock despite ECMO support. Our findings suggest that implantation of ECMO during refractory septic shock could be considered in patients with severe myocardial injury but should be avoided in patients who have received CPR., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.)

Background: Limited data are available on a risk model for survival to discharge after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR). We aimed to develop a risk prediction model for survival to discharge in cardiac arrest patients who undergo ECMO., Methods: Between January 2004 and December 2012, 505 patients supported by ECMO were enrolled in a retrospective, observational registry. Among those, we studied 152 adult patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest. The primary outcome was survival to discharge. A new predictive scoring system, named the ECPR score, was developed to monitor survival to discharge using the β coefficients of prognostic factors from the logistic model, which were internally validated., Results: In-hospital death occurred in 104 patients (68.4%). In multivariate logistic regression, age ≤ 66, shockable arrest rhythm, CPR to ECMO pump-on time ≤ 38 min, post-ECMO arterial pulse pressure > 24 mmHg, and post-ECMO Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score ≤ 14 were independent predictors for survival to discharge. Survival to discharge was predicted by the ECPR score with a c-statistics of 0.8595 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80-0.92; p<0.001) which was similar to the c-statistics obtained from internal validation (training vs. test set; c-statistics, 0.86 vs. 0.86005; 95% CI, 0.80-0.92 vs. 0.77-0.94). The sensitivity and specificity for prediction of survival to discharge were 89.6% and 75.0%, respectively, when the ECPR score was >10., Conclusions: The new risk prediction model might be helpful for decisions about ECPR management and could provide better information regarding early prognosis., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Dedicated intensive care unit (ICU) physician staffing is associated with a reduction in ICU mortality rates in general medical and surgical ICUs. However, limited data are available on the role of a cardiac intensivist in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU).Objectives: This study investigated the association of cardiac intensivist-directed care with clinical outcomes in adult patients admitted to the CICU.Methods: This study analyzed 2,431 patients admitted to the CICU at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea, from January 2012 to December 2015. In January 2013 the CICU was changed from a low-intensity staffing model to a high-intensity staffing model managed by a dedicated cardiac intensivist. Eligible patients were divided into either a low-intensity management group (n = 616) or a high-intensity management group (n = 1,815). One-to-many (1:N) propensity score matching with variable matching ratios was also performed. The primary outcome was death in the CICU.Results: Death in the CICU occurred in 55 patients (8.9%) in the low-intensity group versus 74 patients (4.1%) in the high-intensity group (p < 0.001). Of 135 patients who underwent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, the CICU mortality rate in the high-intensity group was also lower than that in the low-intensity group (54.5% vs. 22.5%; p = 0.001). On propensity score matching, high-intensity staffing was found associated with a lower CICU mortality rate in the matched cohort of patients (7.5% vs. 3.7%; adjusted odds ratio: 0.53; 95% confidence interval: 0.32 to 0.86; p = 0.010). In overall and propensity-matched patients, there were no substantive differences in either median length of CICU stay or readmission rates between the 2 groups.Conclusions: The presence of a dedicated cardiac intensivist was associated with a reduction in CICU mortality rates in patients with cardiovascular disease who required critical care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]