Long term veno-venous extracorporeal life support without intravenous anticoagulation for diffuse alveolar hemorrhage

Diffuse alveolar damage is the histologic hallmark for the acute phase of acute respiratory distress syndrome and can occasionally present as diffuse alveolar hemorrhage.

We report a patient with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage and acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring veno-venous extracorporeal life support for 210 days, who was successfully treated for a period of 130 consecutive days without intravenous anticoagulation.

Although there are a few brief reports detailing long extracorporeal life support runs, the literature is largely devoid of data regarding long-term extracorporeal life support without full systemic anticoagulation. Regular inspection of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuit is critical because externally visible thrombi may predict internal thrombus generation with the potential for systemic embolization or abrupt oxygenator failure. In our case, multiple circuit and oxygenators changes were required.

We have demonstrated that a patient with a contraindication for systemic anticoagulation can safely have veno-venous extracorporeal life support for prolonged periods without catastrophic thrombotic complications.