No abstract

Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the heart muscle with established histological, immunological and immunohistochemical diagnostic criteria. Different triggers could be advocated as possible etiologies of myocarditis such as viral and non-viral infections, medications, systemic autoimmune diseases and toxic reactions. The spectrum of clinical presentations of myocarditis is broad and varies from subclinical asymptomatic courses to refractory cardiogenic shock. The prognosis of patients with myocarditis depends mainly on the severity of clinical presentation. In particular, myocarditis patients developing cardiogenic shock refractory to optimal maximal medical treatment may benefit from the use of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) as a temporary mechanical circulatory support (MCS).The aim of the present report is to offer a review of the most important articles of the literature showing the results of VA-ECMO in the specific setting of cardiogenic shock due to myocarditis in adult patients. J Thorac Dis 2016;8(7):E495-E502 jtd.amegroups.com characterized by tissue hypoperfusion and multiorgan failure requiring prompt interventions. Initially refractory cardiogenic shock is supported with temporary MCS as a "bridge to decision" before considering the patient eligible for a long-term device implantation in case of no recovery. This general trend has been regularly highlighted by the Annual Reports of the Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS) (4,5). The implantation of long-term MCS in cardiogenic shock patients, i.e., INTERMACS Level 1 patients, fell since 2006 from 41% to 14%. As a consequence, there has been a considerable increase from 8% to 30% in the implantation of long-term MCS in INTERMACS Level 3 patients, i.e., stable but inotrope-dependent heart failure patients. In this subgroup of critically ill and unstable patients in cardiogenic shock, VA-ECMO allows, on the one hand, temporary hemodynamic stabilization with improvement of end-organ function and, on the other hand, gives the time to perform complementary diagnostic exams and to decide the therapeutic strategy in these high-risk candidates for immediate long-term MCS implantation (6). VA-ECMO could be implanted and removed directly at the bedside in the intensive care unit and offers a reasonable solution in term of cost-effectiveness.Patients who do not show myocardial recovery during VA-ECMO support could be directed to longterm ventricular assist device implantation or heart transplantation depending on age, general clinical and functional status, life expectancy and organs function (brain, lung, liver and kidneys). Finally, as stated by the European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure, short-term MCS should be considered (as a "bridge to recovery") in patients remaining severely hypoperfused despite inotropic therapy and with a potentially reversible cause (e.g., viral myocarditis) or a potentially ...

Background: Cardiac failure is still a leading cause of death in drug intoxication. Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) could be used as a rescue therapeutic option in patients developing refractory cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest. The aim of this report is to present our results of ECLS in the setting of poisoning from cardiotoxic drugs. Methods: We included in this analysis consecutive patients who received an ECLS for refractory cardiogenic shock or in-hospital cardiac arrest due to drug intoxication. The primary endpoint of our study was survival to hospital discharge with good neurological recovery after ECLS support. Results: Between January 2010 and December 2015, we performed 12 ECLS. Mean age was 44.2±17.8 years and there was a predominance of females (66.7%). Drug intoxication was mainly due to beta-blockers and/or calcium channel inhibitors (83.3%) and 5 (41.7%) patients had multiple drugs overdose. Weaning rate and survival to hospital discharge with good neurological recovery were 75% (9 patients). Among patients weaned from ECLS, mean duration of support was 2.4±1.1 days. Three (25%) patients underwent ECLS implantation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, 2 (66.6%) of them died while on mechanical circulatory support (MCS). Six (50%) patients developed lower limb ischemia. Each patient was managed with ECLS decannulation: 2 (16.7%) patients underwent a concomitant iliofemoral thrombectomy, 3 (25%) needed further fasciotomy and the remaining patient (8.3%) required an amputation. Conclusions: Refractory cardiogenic shock due to drug intoxication is still one of the best indications for ECLS owing to the satisfactory survival with good neurological outcome in such a critically ill population.Further data are however necessary in order to best understand the possible relation between drug intoxication and lower limb ischemia, which was quite superior to the reported rates.

Background. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation of cardiac arrest has poor outcomes. Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) could represent a salvage option. This study aimed to analyze the outcomes of ECLS used for refractory cardiac arrest.Methods. In this observational analysis, patients were divided into an in-hospital cardiac arrest group (IHCA) and an out-of-hospital (OHCA) cardiac arrest group. The primary end point was survival to hospital discharge with good neurologic outcome. Both groups were compared after propensity score matching. Risk factors were searched with multivariate analyses.Results. From January 2007 to December 2016, study investigators performed 131 ECLS procedures (IHCA, n [ 45, 34.4%; OHCA, n [ 86, 65.6%). The mean age of patients was 43.2 years, and 71.8% were male. Baseline characteristics were comparable between both groups except mean no-flow duration (0.2 minutes vs 2.5 minutes; p < 0.001) and low-flow duration (46.9 minutes vs 85.3 minutes; p < 0.001), which were significantly shorter