One hundred ECMO retrivals before and during the Covid-19 pandemic: an observational study.
Alberto Lucchini, Roberto Gariboldi, Marta Villa and 6 others
PMID 36464607WHAT IT FOUND
Ninety-eight ECMO retrievals were transported without recorded ECMO-related or transport-related adverse events, and 73 of 98 survived to hospital discharge.
Key findings
01Among 98 transports, no ECMO-related complications or transport-related adverse events were recorded.
02Seventy-three of 98 transported patients were alive at hospital discharge, and survival did not differ between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients.
03Three COVID-19 patients were transported in prone position without ECMO, and all seven transports without ECMO required cannulation within 24 hours.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Single-centre retrospective study of 100 missions, so results may not apply to other ECMO retrieval services. The analysis included 98 transports after excluding patients who died before arrival or were not ECMO candidates, so outcomes describe selected transported patients. It was an observational description of a transport programme, not a controlled comparison of ECMO retrieval versus no retrieval. Some clinical data from peripheral hospitals were missing, and not all daily ICU data were collected. The team, ambulance, equipment, and local pandemic staffing changes were specific to one centre.
Declared interests
No financial support was reported, and the authors declared no competing financial interests or personal relationships.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 74% survival and absence of recorded adverse events as proof that ECMO retrieval improves outcomes for all patients with severe ARDS. This was a single-centre retrospective study of 98 transports performed by an experienced local team, and it did not compare retrieval with no retrieval.