Blood clot removal by cryoextraction in critically ill patients with pulmonary hemorrhage

Severe pulmonary hemorrhage is a life-threatening complication in critically ill patients. Due to tracheobronchial obstruction, ventilation is often impaired. Traditionally, rigid bronchoscopy is an option for recanalization. However, in comparison to flexible bronchoscopy, the application of rigid bronchoscopy is more complex. Against this background we evaluated the use of flexible cryo-probes for blood clot removal in critically ill patients.

Retrospectively, we identified 16 patients (median age: 60 years, 69% male patients), who suffered from severe airway obstruction due to blood clots. All patients required invasive ventilation and 11 patients depended on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). To remove blood clots, flexible bronchoscopic cryoextraction was performed in n=27 cases, whereas rigid bronchoscopy was only needed in two cases.

Whereas in 9 cases single flexible cryoextraction was successful immediately, the procedure had to be repeated again in 7 patients. In all cases, tracheobronchial obstruction was treated with success and conditions of invasive ventilation were improved. In no case severe complications were observed.

In consideration of the underlying evaluation, we highly recommend flexible cryoextraction as both a safe and less complex technique for blood clot removal in critically ill patients.