[National survey on short-term circulatory and/or respiratory support in 2009]

Indications for short-term circulatory and/or respiratory support (STCRS) increased during the last years. The goal of this survey was to characterize this activity in France in 2009.

Observational retrospective pluricentral.

Each center of cardiothoracic surgery received a questionnaire validated by the Société française de perfusion about the activity, materials and organization used for STCRS. Data were expressed as percentages or median (25-75 percentiles).

Forty-one centers on 61 (67%) answered. STCRS was performed respectively by 33 (80.5 %), 36 (87.8 %) and 39 (95.1 %) of centers in 2007, 2008 and 2009 including 10 [4-26], 18 [6-29] and 18 [5-33] cases/center per year. In 2009, types of STCRS installed were veno-arterial in 39 centres (95.1 %), veno-venous in 27 (65.9 %) and Novalung(®) in four (9.8 %), including 18 [5-32], five [2-7] and 15 [1-17] cases respectively. Twenty-nine centers (70.7%) installed STCRS outside the operating theater, and 24 (58.5%) in non-cardiothoracic surgery. A mobile circulatory support unit was created in eight centers (19.5%), however 21 (51.2%) have installed STCRS externally, at distances between 10 [5-55] to 100 [15-200] km, using emergency vehicles in most of the cases (90.5%), but helicopter seldom (19%).

STCRS has increased over the last few years in France. Externalized activity outside the operating theater was important, time-consuming and used hospital resources therefore modifying the professional activity of perfusionists.