Intermittent outpatient based ECUM. A case report

Extracorporeal Ultrafiltration Method (ECUM) could be used in patients with refractory congestive heart failure (CHF). We have encountered a 56-year-old woman with refractory congestive heart failure (CHF) (NYHA II-III) due to coronary artery disease, complicated by moderately advanced diabetic nephropathy (Cr = 2.4 mg/dl). Due to the non-responsiveness to medical treatments, she has begun receiving the intermittent ECUM once or twice a week on an outpatient basis. ECUM effectively reduced cardiac preload and temporarily relieved her intractable respiratory distress. Based on our present clinical experience, we propose that one could consider an outpatient based intermittent ECUM as one of the useful therapeutic modalities to ameliorate refractory CHF.