ECMO in trauma: What are the outcomes?

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use in Trauma Quality Improvement Program centers: Temporal trends and future directions

BACKGROUND

Increased clinical experience and the decreased need for systemic anticoagulation have renewed interest in the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for posttraumatic respiratory and cardiopulmonary failure. The objectives of this study were to describe the incidence and temporal trends of ECMO use at trauma centers, the outcomes of trauma patients undergoing ECMO, and the characteristics of trauma centers providing ECMO.

METHODS

Data were derived from the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program data set. We included adults with at least one severe injury admitted to a level I or II trauma center between 2012 and 2016 who received at least 1 day of mechanical ventilation. Patients were categorized based on whether or not they received ECMO during their admission. The primary outcome was change in the incidence of ECMO across study years. We also evaluated patient outcomes and variation in ECMO volumes across centers.

RESULTS

Of 194,314 severely injured patients undergoing mechanical ventilation across 450 centers, 269 (0.14%) received ECMO. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients had significantly higher mortality than non-ECMO patients (32% vs. 19%). The standardized rate of ECMO from 2012 to 2016 increased significantly from 75.2 to 179.0 cases per 100,000 severely injured patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. The average annual growth rate was 24%. Of the 82 centers(18%) reporting at least 1 ECMO trauma case, 34 (41%) reported only a single case.

CONCLUSION

The use of ECMO for trauma, although rare, is rapidly increasing. Two thirds of patients who receive ECMO following traumatic injury survive their hospitalization. These data suggest that ECMO represents a potential treatment strategy for trauma patients with respiratory or cardiopulmonary failure. However, given the rarity of the procedure, there exists an opportunity to develop practice guidelines regarding the indications for, and approach to, ECMO in the setting of trauma.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic/care management, level IV.

AAST Critical Care Committee clinical consensus: ECMO, nutrition

The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Critical Care Committee has developed clinical consensus guides to help with practical answers based on the best evidence available. These are focused in areas in which the levels of evidence may not be that strong and are based on a combination of expert consensus and research. Overall, quality of the research is mixed, with many studies suffering from small numbers and issues with bias. The first two of these focus on the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in trauma patients and nutrition for the critically ill surgical/trauma patient.

Principles and indications of extracorporeal life support in general thoracic surgery

The role of extracorporeal life support (ECLS) has expanded rapidly over the past 15 years to become an important tool in advanced general thoracic surgery practice. Intra-operative and in some cases continued post-operative ECLS is redefining the scope of complex surgical care. ECLS encompasses a spectrum of temporary mechanical support that may remove CO₂, oxygenate or provide hemodynamic support or a combination thereof. The most common modalities used in general thoracic surgery include extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), interventional lung assist device (iLA^® Novalung^®, Heilbronn, Germany), and extracorporeal CO₂ removal (ECCO₂R). The ECMO and Novalung^® devices can be used in different modes for the short term or long-term support depending on the situation. In this review, the principles and current applications of ECLS in general thoracic surgery are presented.