Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms after veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenator support

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common long-term outcome after intensive care of critical illness.

Assess the prevalence and factors associated to PTSD after veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) support.

Retrospective analysis of admission data and cross-sectional assessment of PTSD symptoms in adult survivors from admission requiring VA-ECMO support in a referral hospital. People were screened through abbreviated Impact of Event Scale-6 (IES-6).

Out of 135 VA-ECMO implants performed from 2013 to 2020, 48 (35.6%) patients survived the admission. After a median follow-up of 31.4 [36] months, 34 survivors responded the questionnaire. All patients required sedation and invasive mechanical ventilation. Up to 29.4% of patients had PTSD symptoms. Patients with altered IES-6 items had passed a longer time since admission in ICCU (44±15 vs 30±20 months, p = 0.034). No baseline characteristic or admission-related variables were correlated with IES-6 except the lower time under mechanical ventilation (6.5 [8.5] vs. 8.5 [21] days, p = 0.044).

Survivors from admission requiring VA-ECMO support show high prevalence of PTSD symptoms, appearing more frequently when more time has elapsed since admission. Special attention should be paid to psychological symptoms after VA-ECMO support.