As an extracorporeal life support technology, veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) has been demonstrated its role in the treatment of patients with severe respiratory failure. Its main advantages include the ability to maintain adequate oxygenation and remove excess CO2, increase oxygen delivery, improve tissue perfusion and metabolism, and implement lung protection strategies. Clinicians should accurately assess and identify the patient's condition, timely and accurately carry out VV-ECMO operation and management. This article will review the patient selection, cannulation strategy, anticoagulation, clinical management and weaning involved in the application of VV-ECMO.
Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is a salvage therapy for patients suffering cardiac arrest refractory to conventional resuscitation, and provides circulatory support in patients who fail to achieve a sustained return of spontaneous circulation. ECPR serves as a bridge therapy that maintains organ perfusion whilst the underlying etiology of the cardiac arrest is determined and treated. Increasing recognition of the survival benefit associated with ECPR has led to increased use of ECPR during the past decade. Commonly used indications for ECPR are: age<70 years, initial rhythm of ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia, witnessed arrest, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation within 5 min, failure to achieve sustained return of spontaneous circulation within 15 min of beginning cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This review provides an overview of ECPR utilization, recent outcomes, risk factors, and complications of ECPR. Identifying ECPR indications, rapid deployment of extracorporeal life support equipment, and high-quality ECPR management strategies are of paramount importance to improve survival.
Poisoning is a frequent reason for patients to seek emergency medical attention, and in severe cases, it can result in severe cardiac disease or cardiac arrest. American Heart Association published the guideline for the management of patients with cardiac arrest or life-threatening toxicity due to poisoning in Circulation on September 18, 2023. Based on the literature, this article interprets the suggestions related to neurotoxic substances in this guideline, mainly involving the clinical management of benzodiazepines, opioids, cocaine, local anesthetics, and sympathomimetic substances poisoning. By interpreting the recommended points of the guide in detail, it is hoped that it will be helpful for the diagnosis and treatment of readers.
ObjectiveTo describe the outcomes of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for patients after aortic surgery and to summarize the experience. Methods The clinical data of patients who received ECMO support after aortic surgery in Fuwai Hospital from 2009 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients who received an aortic dissection surgery were allocated into a dissection group, and the other patients were allocated into a non-dissection group. The in-hospital and follow-up survival rates were compared between the two groups, and the causes of death were analyzed. ResultsA total of 22 patients were enrolled, including 17 patients in the dissection group [13 males and 4 females, with a median age of 54 (46, 61) years] and 5 patients in the non-dissection group [3 males and 2 females, with a median age of 51 (41, 65) years]. There was no statistical difference in the age and gender between the two groups (P>0.05). The in-hospital survival rate (11.8% vs. 100.0%, P=0.001) and follow-up survival rate (11.8% vs. 80.0%, P=0.009) of the patients in the dissection group were significantly lower than those in the non-dissection group. The causes of death in the dissection group included massive bleeding and disseminated intravascular coagulation (3 patients), ventricular thrombosis (1 patient), irreversible brain injury (2 patients), visceral malperfusion syndrome (4 patients) and irreversible heart failure (5 patients). ConclusionECMO after aortic dissection surgery is associated with high mortality, which is related to the pathological features of aortic dissection and severely disrupted coagulation system after the surgery. For these patients, strict indication selection and optimal management strategy are important.
[Abstract]Acute cardiac tamponade after thoracoscopic lobectomy is extremely rare and highly lethal once it occurs. This paper reports a case of a 64-year-old male with preoperative hypertension and coronary heart disease who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic right upper lung wedge resection for early-stage lung adenocarcinoma. Three hours postoperatively, he suddenly developed hypotension and loss of consciousness. Ultrasound indicated a large amount of pericardial effusion, suggesting cardiac tamponade. Despite emergency pericardiocentesis, his hemodynamics did not improve, and the patient went into cardiac arrest. Subsequent veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was performed to support systemic circulation, and emergency thoracotomy was carried out. During the surgery, a needle-like tear in the anterior wall of the ascending aorta was found, corresponding exactly to a prominent staple at the lung resection margin, suggesting a stapler malfunction. After vascular repair, the patient recovered smoothly and was discharged. This case suggests that during lung resection, great attention should be paid to the integrity of staples and anatomical variations of large vessels, and vigilance is needed for rare but potentially fatal stapler-related complications.
ObjectiveTo explore the diagnosis and treatment of severe adenovirus pneumonia patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in a short time and reduce the complications after rehabilitation. MethodsThe clinical data, laboratory results, treatment process and imaging outcomes of three severe community-acquired adenovirus pneumonia patients with normal immune function were analyzed. ResultsAll the three patients developed ARDS in a very short time. In the early stage, alveolar lavage fluid obtained by fiberoptic bronchoscopy was taken for macrogenomic second-generation sequencing (mNGS), adenovirus was detected and antiviral drugs were immediately used. The first two patients received cidofovir antiviral therapy and the third patient received ribavirin antiviral therapy. All three patients received very high respiratory support, of which the first two received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation treatment. The lungs of all three patients recovered well after treatment. ConclusionsThe diagnosis and treatment of severe adenovirus pneumonia is still based on individualized symptomatic support, immune regulation and treatment of complications. mNGS can help diagnose and direct treatment of adenovirus pneumonia as early as possible, which is beneficial to reduce complications and improve survival rate.
ObjectiveTo explore the construction of heart preservation model of empty beating donor based on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). MethodsFrom January 2022 to August 2023, 20 Guangxi Bama miniature pigs weighing 25-30 kg were selected, half male and half female. Under general anesthesia and heparinization, a midline thoracotomy was performed. The pericardium was cut after freeing the anterior and posterior vena cavae, and a perfusion needle was inserted near the brachiocephalic artery in the ascending aorta, connected to a blood collection bag to collect 500-600 mL of blood. The anterior and posterior vena cavae were ligated, the aorta was blocked and perfused with HTK solution to stop the heart beating. The superior and inferior vena cavae were cut off, the right pulmonary vein was decompressed, the aorta and left and right pulmonary arteries and veins were cut off, and the whole heart was removed. An ECMO device was used to continuously perfuse a cardioprotective solution mainly composed of oxygenated warm blood, maintaining the isolated pig heart beating for 8 hours, monitoring (once/hour) ECMO perfusion parameters, blood gas indicators, perfusate electrolytes, detecting inflammatory factors, myocardial enzymes, myoglobin, and troponin levels. Myocardial tissue was taken for hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining to observe myocardial cell damage and evaluate the quality of heart preservation. ResultsAmong the 20 isolated beating preservation pig hearts, 17 successfully resumed beating, 3 experienced ventricular fibrillation, resuscitated after intracardiac electrical defibrillation, and all 20 pig hearts successfully beat for 8 hours. There was no statistical difference in ECMO perfusion parameters, blood gas indicators, perfusate electrolytes, and inflammatory factors at each time point (P>0.05). There were statistical increases in myocardial enzymes, myoglobin, and troponin levels (P<0.05). HE staining results suggested that there was no severe myocardial damage. ConclusionECMO technology can be used for pig heart preservation with good results, and this study provides experimental evidence for improving heart preservation research in clinical heart transplantation.
Although extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been in existence since the 1970s as a means of supporting respiratory or cardiac function, early application of this technology was plagued by high complication rates. Peripheral veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A ECMO) causes higher left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, pulmonary edema, left ventricular distention, ventricular arrhythmia, low coronary perfusion, myocardial ischemia, substantial thrombus formation within left ventricule cavity and even multiple organ dysfunction. Mechanical left ventricular decompression is required to treat these related complications. In this article, we reviewed the problems associated with left ventricular decompression supported by peripheral V-A ECMO in patients with cardiogenic shock.
During the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been controversy over whether emergency surgical management should be performed or not in the patients with COVID-19. Stanford type A aortic dissection is a very urgent life-threatening disease, and guidelines recommend surgical treatment for patients with type A aortic dissection in the first instance. However, intraoperative extracorporeal circulation can be fatal to patients recovering from COVID-19. During the pandemic, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has played an important role in supporting COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory failure. This article reports a successful V-V ECMO treatment for a Stanford type A aortic dissection patient, who suffered respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 after emergency surgery.
[Abstract]The number of lung transplantation is gradually increasing worldwide, which brings new challenges to the multi-disciplinary team of lung transplantation. The prognosis of lung transplant recipients is seriously affected by the pathophysiological state of specific lung diseases and perioperative risk factors. It is of great significance for these patients to optimize perioperative management according to these factors. Recently, several expert consensus have been published regarding anesthesia management of lung transplantation. Based on the current evidence and clinical practice of West China Hospital, this review summarizes the key points of anesthesia management for lung transplant recipients to guide anesthesiologists' clinical practice.