Gender-Dependent Clinical Outcome and Other Predictors of In-Hospital Mortality Following Out-Of-Center Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Extracorporeal Life Support: A Single Center Experience.

BACKGROUND: Out-of-center extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and extracorporeal life support (ECLS) implantation for the treatment of acute cardiorespiratory failure with subsequent transport to a tertiary care center has been introduced successfully into the medical practice. However, due to the very specific and resource intensive nature of this therapeutic concept, it seems important to generate algorithms for adequate patient selection. The aim of our study was to analyze the impact of patients' gender on early clinical outcome in this specific therapeutic scenario. METHODS: Ninety-seven consecutive patients treated by out-of-center ECMO/ECLS implantation and subsequent transport and treatment in our tertiary care cardiovascular center within the Hallesche Extracorporeal Life Support Program (HELP) retrospectively were analyzed, regarding the impact of patients' gender on early clinical outcome. RESULTS: Mechanical circulatory support successfully was weaned in two-thirds of the male patients. This result was achieved in only one-third of the female patients (59.4% in male vs. 33.3% in female, P = .0267). Overall survival significantly was higher in the male group (62.5% in male versus 30.3% in female, P = .0052). In uni- and multivariate logistic regression analysis, female gender was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (uni: OR:3.833, CI:1.597-9.745, P = .0034; multi: OR:3.477, CI:1.146-11.494, P = .0322). Worse outcome also was associated with following independent predictors, age, SOFA score, lactate and ventilation time pre-ECMO/ECLS implantation. CONCLUSION: The current study demonstrates a worse early survival for women, following emergent out-of- center ECMO/ECLS implantation and subsequent transport and treatment in our tertiary care cardiovascular center. Gender should be included in patient selection algorithms while basic research approaches are needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying these gender- specific outcome disparities.

Rotational Thromboelastometry for Assessing Bleeding Complications and Factor XIII Deficiency in Cardiac Surgery Patients.

We aimed to detect alterations and deficits in hemostasis during cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) using point-of-care-supported coagulation analysis (rotational thromboelastometry, impedance aggregometry), in addition to single factor assays for the measurement of fibrinogen (FI) and factor XIII (FXIII) levels. Forty-one patients scheduled for elective cardiac surgery with CPB were enrolled in this observational study. Perioperative measurement (pre-, postheparin, 30-minutes before the end of bypass, 1-hourpostoperatively) of standard laboratory variables, additional rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM; International GmbH, Munich, Germany), Multiplate analysis (Roche, Switzerland), and an assay of FXIII activity were performed as well as the collection of epidemiological data and blood loss. The FI and FXIII levels as well as the measured ROTEM and Multiplate parameters correlated weakly with the blood loss. Clotting time and maximum clot firmness (MCF) of the intrinsically activated ROTEM showed a good correlation (rCT-INTEM = 0.378; P < .05, rMCF-INTEM = 0.305; P < .05) with postoperative drainage loss, suggesting a dependence of blood loss on the initial intrinsic activity. Additionally, perioperative FI or FIBTEM levels and the FXIII levels correlated with each other. Intrinsically activated ROTEM showed a good correlation with postoperative drainage loss, thus suggesting a dependence of blood loss on the initial intrinsic activity and therefore facilitating clinicians to assess postoperative bleeding complications. Based on the FI level or the MCFFIBTEM measured by ROTEM, it may also be possible to assess the FXIII concentration. Especially in chronically ill and massive bleeding cardiac surgery patients with significantly decreased FXIII levels, the knowledge of FXIII deficiency may help clinicians to treat coagulation disorders more adequately.

Predictors for quality of life of patients with a portable out-of-centre-implanted extracorporeal membrane oxygenation device.

Objectives: Despite progress in the treatment of cardiopulmonary organ failure, the mortality rate for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and cardiogenic shock remains high. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a promising treatment option, but long-term outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are unknown. Methods: Detailed information related to pre- and post-device data and outcomes from a consecutive sample of 71 patients treated with ECMO was analysed. Long-term survivors were given a detailed follow-up examination after a median time of 31 months that included multiple scoring systems for HRQOL assessment. Results: Seventy-one patients received a portable out-of-centre-implanted ECMO system. The survival rate at hospital discharge was 48%. Median HRQOL scores were 80% on the Karnofsky index (normal ≥80%), 80% on the Euroqol-5D (normal ≥75%) and 73.1% on the quality-of-life index (normal ≥70%). Mental scores were 96.7% on the Mini-Mental State Examination (normal ≥90.0%), 77.8% on the DemTect (normal ≥72.0%), 87.0% on the test for early detection of dementia with depression demarcation (TFDD; normal ≥74.0%) and confirmed good mental state and HRQOL for patients at follow-up. Univariate analysis for in-hospital mortality indicated that ventilation time before device implantation, higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, higher lactate level at the time of ECMO implantation and female gender were associated with adverse outcomes. Conclusions: In our cohort of patients, survivors of out-of-hospital ECMO implantation demonstrated good mental and quality-of-life conditions with well-recovered cardiopulmonary function during long-term follow-up. The indicators for adverse outcomes, pre-implantation lactate levels, pre-ventilation time and APACHE II score, should be considered before implantation of an ECMO device. Clinical trial: This study is registered at DRKS (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien) under the code DRKS00009735 and was submitted to the WHO.