Postcardiotomy VA-ECMO for refractory cardiogenic shock
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Open Access
Postcardiotomy VA-ECMO for refractory cardiogenic shock Michael Charlesworth1* , Rajamiyer Venkateswaran2, Julian M. Barker3 and Lee Feddy3 Abstract Postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock (PCCS) is a rare but catastrophic syndrome that can occur following separation from cardiopulmonary bypass or at any time during the immediate postoperative course. The management of PCCS varies between clinicians, institutions and countries. The available evidence to guide this practice is limited. In their systematic review and meta-analysis, Khorsandi and colleagues report a synthesis of case-series pertinent to the use of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) for PCCS. Whilst we acknowledge the potential survival benefit for carefully selected patients for what is ordinarily a condition with high mortality, we wish to comment on several aspects of the study in the context of its application to clinical practice. Keywords: Postcardiotomy, VA-EMO, Systematic review, Cardiogenic shock In their systematic review and meta-analysis of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) for postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock (PCCS), Khorsandi and colleagues report a pooled survival to hospital discharge of 30.8% and suggest a number of adverse prognostic indicators [1]. Whilst we agree that postcardiotomy VA-ECMO for refractory cardiogenic shock does indeed provide a significant survival benefit, we wish to highlight several limitations so as to aid interpretation of this study and inform future analyses. With regards the search strategy, it was unclear from which database(s) (Medline and/or PubMed) articles were retrieved and from when the search extends. A recent Cochrane review advised against the pooling of studies from prior to 2000 due to significant advances in technology, yet three of the included studies are from the 1990s [2]. The use of other databases, a Google™ search and searching the bibliography of included manuscripts could have ensured a more comprehensive strategy. With regards inclusion and exclusion criteria, all transplant and non-transplant patients receiving VA-ECMO for postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock were included. At our institution, it is generally more common for VA-ECMO to be employed following heart * Correspondence: [email protected]; 1 Department of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia, University Hospital South Manchester, Southmoor Road, Manchester M23 9LT, UK Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
transplantation than it is following non-transplant cardiac surgery. Anecdotally, we also find that outcomes following planned VA-ECMO use following heart transplantation are better as compared to unplanned non-transplant postcardiotomy VA-ECMO. Given that transplant and non-transplant patients have very different baseline characteristics together with different pre, intra and postoperative courses, it may have been advisable to statistically treat transplant and non-transplant groups separately to further reduce data heterogene
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