RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To assess the experience and efficacy of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for cardiac rescue in patients with presumptively lethal cardiac dysfunction at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of patient records from a 9-yr period. SETTING: A 22-bed tertiary care pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) with an average of 1,400 admissions per year. An average of 150 open cardiotomy surgeries are performed per year, and all postoperative and severely ill cardiac patients are cared for in the ICU. PATIENTS: A total of 29 pediatric ICU patients with myocardial failure received ECMO throughout the 9-yr study period. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Demographic information, underlying cardiac defect, intraoperative and postoperative data, postoperative course, details of ECMO treatment, and outcome were collected. Comparison of survivors with nonsurvivors was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables. Twenty-three (79%) of 29 patients recovered myocardial function while undergoing ECMO, 18 (62%) of 29 patients were successfully decannulated, and 13 (45%) of 29 patients survived to hospital discharge. Long-term survival rate was 11 (38%) of 29 patients. Three (60%) of five bridge-to-heart transplant patients survived. Eleven (65%) of 17 patients who suffered cardiac arrest before ECMO, survived to discharge and nine (53%) of these 17 patients remain long-term survivors. Survival rate in patients who required cardiac massage for > 15 mins before cannulation was six (55%) of 11 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with severe myocardial dysfunction who fail conventional therapy can be successfully supported with ECMO during the period of myocardial recovery. ECMO can also provide a viable circulatory support system in patients with prolonged cardiac arrest who fail conventional resuscitation techniques. ECMO is also an effective means of support as a mechanical bridge to heart transplantation.
Assuntos
Baixo Débito Cardíaco/terapia , Oxigenação por Membrana Extracorpórea , Baixo Débito Cardíaco/etiologia , Baixo Débito Cardíaco/mortalidade , Procedimentos Cirúrgicos Cardíacos , Cardiotônicos/uso terapêutico , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Oxigenação por Membrana Extracorpórea/mortalidade , Feminino , Humanos , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Masculino , Complicações Pós-Operatórias , Estudos RetrospectivosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for cardiac arrest after open-heart surgery in children is often unsuccessful despite the ability to perform open-chest massage. The purpose of this study was to review our results with mechanical support as rescue therapy in children with sudden circulatory arrest after cardiac surgery. METHODS AND RESULTS: From 1981 through 1991, we have used mechanical support with an extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) circuit for cardiac support in 33 children. Eleven of the 33 patients (age, 15 +/- 7 months) suffered cardiac arrest intractable to conventional open-chest massage 39 +/- 15 hours after an open-heart procedure. The mean duration of CPR was 65 +/- 9 minutes until ECMO flow was started. ECMO support was continued for 112 +/- 8 hours. One patient had ECMO discontinued due to bleeding (survived); three were discontinued from ECMO and died from neurological complications; and one died of cardiac dysfunction. Sepsis on ECMO was seen in one patient (survived). Overall early survival was seven of 11 (64%) with one patient requiring heart transplantation due to irreversible cardiac dysfunction. One child died late (1 month) after ECMO support. There were no long-term sequelae in the survivors. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that ECMO rescue in children with postcardiotomy cardiac arrest is a feasible option in selected patients even after prolonged CPR (as long as 60 minutes).