Delayed Initiation of ECMO Is Associated With Poor Outcomes in Patients With Severe COVID-19: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a rapidly evolving therapy for acute lung and/or heart failure. However, the information on the application of ECMO in severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited, such as the initiation time. Especially in the period and regions of ECMO instrument shortage, not all the listed patients could be treated with ECMO in time. This study aimed to investigate and clarify the timing of ECMO initiation related to the outcomes of severe patients with COVID-19. The results show that ECMO should be initiated within 24 h after the criteria are met.Methods: In this retrospective, multicenter cohort study, we enrolled all ECMO patients with confirmed COVID-19 at the three hospitals between December 29, 2019 and April 5, 2020. Data on the demographics, clinical presentation, laboratory profile, clinical course, treatments, complications, and outcomes were collected. The primary outcomes were successful ECMO weaning rate and 60-day mortality after ECMO. Successful weaning from ECMO means that the condition of patients improved with adequate oxygenation and gas exchange, as shown by the vital signs, blood gases, and chest X-ray, and the patient was weaned from ECMO for at least 48 h.Results: A total of 31 patients were included in the analysis. The 60-day mortality rate after ECMO was 71%, and the ECMO weaning rate was 26%. Patients were divided into a delayed ECMO group [3 (interquartile range (IQR), 2–5) days] and an early ECMO group [0.5 (IQR, 0–1) days] based on the time between meeting the ECMO criteria and ECMO initiation. In this study, 14 and 17 patients were included in the early and delayed treatment groups, respectively. Early initiation of ECMO was associated with decreased 60-day mortality after ECMO (50 vs. 88%, P = 0.044) and an increased ECMO weaning rate (50 vs. 6%, P = 0.011).Conclusions: In ECMO-supported patients with COVID-19, delayed initiation of ECMO is a risk factor associated with a poorer outcome.Trial Registration: Clinical trial submission: March 19, 2020. Registry name: A medical records-based study for the clinical application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in the treatment of severe respiratory failure patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19). Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=51267,identifier:~ChiCTR2000030947.

Increasing Mortality in Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for COVID-19–Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

“…If initiated at a later stage, it is possible that V-V ECMO is unlikely to improve the substantial fibrotic lung damage that has already manifested due to severe ARDS. Although our data do not provide definitive evidence of this, other studies have reported increased survival rates when early V-V ECMO is initiated (7,8).…”

Age-Dependent Effects of COVID-19 Vaccine and of Healthcare Burden on COVID-19 Deaths, Tokyo, Japan

“…As in France in the early stages of the pandemic ( 23 ), even if not explicitly documented, these triage procedures probably took place, especially during July–August 2021, when the number of infected persons and deaths soared. From a clinical perspective, delays in treatment initiation have been reported to lead to poor outcomes ( 24 ). It is also possible that frail older case-patients were more affected by delays in treatment initiation because of healthcare burden.…”

Outcomes of Veno-Venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) Infected with SARS-nCoV2 infection.

“…Early initiation of the VV-ECMO (3 interquartile range (IQR) 2-5 days) when compared to late (0.5 interquartile range (IQR) 0-1 days) had shown improved mortality, which was 8.375 days in our series (7). Mortality in covid-ECMO patients ranged from 30 to 95% when initiated late due to resource limitations (trained personnel, delayed transport/ referral to designated centers, and ethical considerations) in addition to patients decompensating before initiation due to progressive lung brosis (8).…”