Safety of Propofol for Oxygenator Exchange in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

The purpose of this analysis is to describe the safety of propofol administration in adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) patients. We performed a prospective cohort analysis of patients using ECMO at Brigham and Women's Hospital between February 2013 and October 2015. Patients were included if they used ECMO for at least 48 hours. The major end-point of the analysis was the median oxygenator lifespan. Oxygenator exchanges were analyzed by the number of patients requiring an oxygenator exchange and the number of oxygenator exchanges per ECMO day. A priori analysis was performed by comparing the outcomes between patients who did and did not receive propofol during their ECMO course. During the study, 43 patients were included in the analysis. Sixteen patients used propofol during their ECMO course. There were 12 oxygenator exchanges during therapy. Oxygenator exchange occurred on 1.8% of ECMO days. The median oxygenator lifespan was 7 days. Patients who used propofol had a significantly longer oxygenator lifespan (p = 0.02). Among patients who received propofol, patients who required oxygenator exchange used a significantly lower median daily dose of propofol (p < 0.001). The use of propofol appears safe in ECMO with regards to oxygenator viability. Contrary to expected, oxygenator lifespan was significantly longer among patients who received propofol.