Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in adults with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)

Effect of ω-9MUFAs in Fat Emulsion on Serum Interleukin-6 in Rats with Lipopolysaccharide-induced Lung Injury

AIM

This study aimed to investigate how ω-9 MUFAs in fat emulsion affect serum IL- 6 levels in rats with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung injury.

BACKGROUND

Research suggests that acute lung injury (ALI) develops acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to the activation of many inflammatory factors. ALI may be treated by reducing inflammation. Fat emulsion is used in parenteral nutrition for critically ill patients to regulate the body's inflammatory response. It is mostly made up of ω-9 MUFAs (Clinoleic), which can regulate the inflammatory response.

OBJECTIVE

The effect of ω-9MUFAs on the secretion of IL-6 in ALI rats was studied in order to provide a basis for the rational use of fat emulsion in clinical practice and provide new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of ALI.

METHODS

The control, model, and -9MUFAs groups consisted of 18 female Sprageue-Dawley (SD) young rats (180 ± 20 g). The SD young rats received normal saline and were not operated. LPS-induced ALI animals received tail vein injections of normal saline. SD young rats were first triggered with acute lung injury by LPS (3 mg/kg) and then injected with 3 mg/kg of ω-9MUFAs via the tail vein. The expression levels of IL-6, an activator of signal transduction transcription 3 (STAT3), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and glycoprotein 130 (GP130) in serum and lung tissues were determined by ELISA and Western blot methods.

RESULTS

Compared with the model group, the survival rate of rats in the ω-9 MUFAs group was significantly increased, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Compared with the model group, the lung pathology of rats in the ω-9 MUFAs group was significantly improved, and the expression levels of IL-6, TGF-β1, GP130, IL-1 and other proteins were significantly decreased. The difference was statistically significant (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

In LPS-induced lung injury, ω-9MUFAs may alleviate symptoms by inhibiting the IL-6/GP130/STAT3 pathway.

Case Report: Eculizumab and ECMO Rescue Therapy of Severe ARDS in Goodpasture Syndrome

Introduction: Goodpasture's syndrome is a life-threatening autoimmune type IV collagen disease characterized by the presence anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies, rapid progressive glomerulonephritis and/or pulmonary hemorrhage. Methods: Here, we describe new therapeutic options, which take recent advances in unraveling Goodpasture's pathogenesis into account. Results: In a 17-year old male, severe Goodpasture's syndrome resulted in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Within 1 day after hospital admission, the patient required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Despite steroid-pulse and plasmapheresis, ARDS further deteriorated. Eleven days after admission, the patient was in a pre-final stage. At last, we decided to block the complement-driven lung damage by Eculizumab. Three days after, lung-failure has stabilized in a way allowing us to initiate Cyclophosphamide-therapy. As mechanical ventilation further triggers Goodpasture-epitope exposure, the patient was taken from pressure support - breathing spontaneously by the help of maintaining ECMO therapy. After a total of 24 days, ECMO could be stopped and pulmonary function further recovered. Conclusions: In conclusion, our findings suggest that life-threatening organ-damage in Goodpasture's syndrome can be halted by Eculizumab as well as by lung-protective early withdrawal from pressure support by the help of ECMO. Both therapeutic options serve as new tools in otherwise hopeless situations to prevent further organ-damage and to gain time until the established immunosuppressive therapy works in otherwise lethal autoimmune-diseases.

Zinc Poisoning - Symptoms, Causes, Treatments

Zinc poisoning has been reported from many parts of the world. It is one of the global health problems that affect many organs, if exposed by inhalation of zinc vapors or by consumption of contaminated food and water. Long term exposure to zinc compounds from different sources such as air, water, soil, and food, lead to toxic effects on body systems, especially digestive, respiratory, and nerve systems, and also causes cancer. Zinc levels can be determined in blood, urine, hair, and nails. Patients with zinc toxicity need chelating agents, other pharmacological treatment, protective lung ventilation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and supportive care.

Is Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation the Standard Care for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a type of acute respiratory failure syndrome characterised by severe respiratory distress and stubborn hypoxaemia. Patients with ARDS have a prolonged hospital stay and high mortality rate. Over long-term follow-up, ARDS is found to be associated with a high incidence of long-term complications and decreased quality of life. Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (vv-ECMO) has been widely used for the treatment of refractory ARDS. However, it is not the standard treatment as recommended by ARDS guidelines.

AIM

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of ECMO (vv-ECMO) and conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV) on the clinical outcomes in patients with ARDS.

METHOD

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in The Cochrane Library, Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, and PubMed databases up to November 2019. We selected appropriate studies according to our inclusion and exclusion criteria, and extracted and analysed the data using RevMan 5.0 software to evaluate the effectiveness of ECMO systematically.

RESULTS

A total of 18 articles and 2,399 patients were included in this meta-analysis: 898 patients in the ECMO group and 1,501 patients in the CMV group. Treatment with ECMO may be associated with reduced 1-year mortality (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.27-0.83; p=0.009) and 60-day mortality (95% CI, 0.37-0.86; p=0.008), but increased Intensive Care Unit mortality (95% CI, 1.26-2.36; p=0.0007) of patients with ARDS. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation may not be related to 30-day mortality or complications such as nosocomial pneumonia, haemorrhagic stroke, or continuous renal replacement therapy in patients with ARDS. However, some results showed heterogeneity, such as bleeding complications and in-hospital mortality. Subgroup analysis showed that ECMO treatment might increase ICU mortality (p=0.002) and nosocomial pneumonia complications (p=0.03) in patients with H1N1 ARDS.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with CMV, ECMO contributed to lower 60-day and 1-year mortality, and increased ICU mortality in patients with ARDS. However, H1N1 ARDS was independently associated with higher ICU mortality and nosocomial pneumonia. The results were not affected by removing retrospective control studies or articles published >20 years ago from the sensitivity analysis. This meta-analysis demonstrates the effectiveness of ECMO and its importance in standard treatment of patients with ARDS.

Patient Safety during ECMO Transportation: Single Center Experience and Literature Review

Background

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been proven to support in lifesaving rescue therapy. The best outcomes can be achieved in high-volume ECMO centers with dedicated emergency transport teams.

Aim

The aim of this study was to analyze the safety of ECMO support during medical transfer on the basis of our experience developed on innovation cooperation and review of literature.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of our experience of all ECMO-supported patients transferred from regional hospital of the referential ECMO center between 2015 and 2020 was carried out. Special attention was paid to transportation-related mortality and morbidity. Moreover, a systematic review of the Medline, Embase, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases was performed. It included the original papers published before the end of 2019.

Results

Twelve (5 women and 7 men) critically ill ECMO-supported patients with the median age of 33 years (2-63 years) were transferred to our ECMO center. In 92% (n = 11) of the cases venovenous and in 1 case, venoarterial supports were applied. The median transfer length was 45 km (5-200). There was no mortality during transfer and no serious adverse events occurred. Of note, the first ECMO-supported transfer had been proceeded by high-fidelity simulations. For our systematic review, 68 articles were found and 22 of them satisfied the search criteria. A total number of 2647 transfers were reported, mainly primary (90%) and as ground transportations (91.6%). A rate of adverse events ranged from 1% through 20% but notably only major complications were mentioned. The 4 deaths occurred during transport (mortality 0.15%).

Conclusions

Our experiences and literature review showed that transportation for ECMO patients done by experienced staff was associated with low mortality rate but life-threatening adverse events might occur. Translational simulation is an excellent probing technique to improve transportation safety.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Severe ARDS Patients Receiving ECMO in Southern Thailand

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a treatment option considered for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients who are refractory to conventional treatments. However, treatment with ECMO has not shown significant reduction of mortality which may be due to inappropriate selection criteria. Thus, we aim to evaluate the treatment outcomes of patients treated with ECMO in our center and determine an optimal cutoff level of the Respiratory ECMO Survival Prediction (RESP) score for case selection. This was a retrospective case-control study conducted at Songklanagarind Hospital, Thailand, from January 2014 to August 2018. ECMO patients were randomly matched to a control group of patients with severe ARDS within the same time period. There were 19 cases diagnosed with ARDS and treated with ECMO and 57 controls with ARDS. The patients in both groups had an average APACHE II score of 30.2 (SD = 4.7) and mainly had bacterial pneumonia. The in-hospital mortality was not significantly different between the cases and controls (68.4% vs 63.2%, respectively); however, the ECMO cases had a significantly longer length of intensive care unit stay and cost of hospitalization. Active malignancy, male gender, PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio, and hypotension needing vasopressors were the risk factors for mortality. The RESP score did not discriminate between the survivors and nonsurvivors. Thus, more patient is needed to construct a better selection criterion.

Heparin-Sparing Anticoagulation Strategies Are Viable Options for Patients on Veno-Venous ECMO

BACKGROUND

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a rescue therapy for pulmonary failure, has traditionally been limited by anticoagulation requirements. Recent practice has challenged the absolute need for anticoagulation, expanding the role of ECMO to patients with higher bleeding risk. We hypothesize that mortality, bleeding, thrombotic events, and transfusions do not differ between heparin-sparing and full therapeutic anticoagulation strategies in veno-venous (VV) ECMO management.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Adult VV ECMO patients between October 2011 and May 2018 at a single center were reviewed. A heparin-sparing strategy was implemented in October 2014; we compared outcomes in an as-treated fashion. The primary end point was survival. Secondary end points included bleeding, thrombotic complications, and transfusion requirements.

RESULTS

Forty VV ECMO patients were included: 17 (147 circuit-days) before and 23 (214 circuit-days) after implementation of a heparin-sparing protocol. Patients treated with heparin-sparing anticoagulation had a lower body mass index (28.5 ± 7.1 versus 38.1 ± 12.4, P = 0.01), more often required inotropic support before ECMO (82 versus 50%, P = 0.05), and had a lower mean activated clotting time (167 ± 15 versus 189 ± 15 s, P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in survival to decannulation (59 versus 83%, P = 0.16) or discharge (50 versus 72%, P = 0.20), bleeding (32 versus 33%, P = 1.0), thromboembolic events (18 versus 39%, P = 0.17), or transfusion requirements (median 1.1 versus 0.9 unit per circuit-day, P = 0.48).

CONCLUSIONS

Survival, bleeding, thrombotic complications, and transfusion requirements did not differ between heparin-sparing and full therapeutic heparin strategies for management of VV ECMO. VV ECMO can be a safe option in patients with traditional contraindications to anticoagulation.

BEST Life-"Bringing ECMO Simulation To Life"-How Medical Simulation Improved a Regional ECMO Program

The implemented "ECMO for Greater Poland" program takes full advantage of the ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) perfusion therapy to promote health for 3.5 million inhabitants in the region. The predominant subjects of implementation are patients with hypothermia, with severe reversible respiratory failure (RRF), and treatment of other critical states leading to heart failure such as sudden cardiac arrest, cardiogenic shock or acute intoxication. Finally, it promotes donation after circulatory death (DCD) strategy in selected organ donor cases. ECMO enables recovery of organs' function after unsuccessful lifesaving treatment. Because this organizational model is complex and expensive, we use advanced high-fidelity medical simulation to prepare for real-life implementation. During the first four months, we performed scenarios mimicking "ECMO for DCD," "ECMO for ECPR (extended cardiopulmonary resuscitation)," "ECMO for RRF" and "ECMO in hypothermia." It helped to create algorithms for aforementioned program arms. In the following months, three ECMO courses for five departments in Poznan (capitol city of Greater Poland) were organized and standardized operating procedures for road ECMO transportation within Medical Emergency System were created. Soon after simulation program, 38 procedures with ECMO perfusion therapy including five road transportations on ECMO were performed. The Maastricht category II DCD procedures were done four times on real patients and in two cases double successful kidney transplantations were carried out for the first time in Poland. ECMO was applied in two patients with hypothermia, nine adult patients with heart failure, and five with RRF, for the first time in the region. In the pediatric group, ECMO was applied in four patients with RRF and 14 with heart failure after cardiac surgery procedures. Additionally, one child was treated successfully following 200 km-long road transport on ECMO. We achieved good and promising results especially in VV ECMO therapy. Simulation-based training enabled us to build a successful procedural chain, and to eliminate errors at the stage of identification, notification, transportation, and providing ECMO perfusion therapy. We discovered the important role of medical simulation, not only to test the medical professional's skills, but also to promote ECMO therapy in patients with critical/life-threatening states. Moreover, it also resulted in increase of the potential organ pool from DCD in the Greater Poland region.