Transfer of Patients With Cardiogenic Shock Using Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

The authors describe the experience of patient transfer on veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) used as a salvage therapy for refractory cardiogenic shock, examining feasibility and long-term outcomes.

A retrospective case series.

A tertiary referral cardiothoracic transplantation center.

Since 2012, the authors' multidisciplinary team has traveled to the referring center of 15 patients referred with refractory cardiogenic shock. Of these, 13 were instituted on VA ECMO support (8 peripheral and 5 central) and subsequently transferred to the authors' center. A further 11 patients were transferred to the authors' institution by the referring team, already having been placed on VA-ECMO (8 peripheral and 3 central).

All patients were safely transferred. The distance travelled ranged from 16 to 341 miles. The median duration of support on VA-ECMO was 4 days, ranging from 1 to 24 days. The VA-ECMO support was weaned, or the patient underwent a definitive surgical management (including 4 undergoing cardiac transplantation and 3 pulmonary endarterectomy) in 15 (62.5%) patients. The median intensive care unit stay was 15 days (range 1-109). Overall 30-day survival for this patient cohort was 69.6% with 1-year survival of 59.8%. For patients who were weaned from VA-ECMO, the 30-day survival was 100% and 1-year survival 92.9%.

The authors' experience demonstrates the feasibility and survival benefit of a salvage VA-ECMO retrieval service for carefully selected patients with refractory cardiogenic shock. The authors suggest that a system based on the model of nationally commissioned severe respiratory failure services could be organized to support the transfer of these patients.