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Ann Thorac Surg 2004;77:1341-1348
© 2004 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
a Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
b Department of Surgery, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
c Department of Anesthesia, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Accepted for publication September 22, 2003.
* Address reprint requests to Dr Booth, Children's Hospital Boston, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA
e-mail: karen.booth{at}cardio.chboston.org
| Abstract |
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METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of 20 patients with cavopulmonary connections (14 Fontan and 6 bidirectional Glenn) who were supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation from a single, large pediatric tertiary care center.
RESULTS: Of the 20 patients, ten were supported and decannulated successfully (50%) (two after cardiac transplantation), but only six (30%) are alive at follow-up. Of the 14 Fontan patients, seven (50%) were withdrawn from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or died within 48 hours of decannulation due to lack of myocardial recovery or severe neurologic injury. All four adult-sized (> 40 kg) Fontan patients were withdrawn from extracorporeal support. The seven Fontan patients who were successfully decannulated survived to discharge, and five (35.7%) are alive at follow-up (median 35 months; range, 7 to 140 months). Of the six bidirectional Glenn patients, five died before hospital discharge and the lone survivor has neurologic injury at follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with failing Fontan and bidirectional Glenn physiology present significant challenges to successful extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. While the morbidity and mortality rates are high, there are select patients for whom extracorporeal support can be effective and lifesaving as a short-term resuscitative intervention.
| Introduction |
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The literature contains little specific data on patients with cavopulmonary connections supported with ECMO. Previous reports include a single case report [12] and descriptions of different institutional experiences with cardiac patients on ECMO that include small subsets of patients with Fontan or BDG circulations [9, 1318] (reviewed in Table 1). The purposes of this study were to describe our institution's cumulative experience with Fontan and BDG patients who were supported with ECMO, including the indications for ECMO, details of cannulation, subsequent interventions, complications, and clinical outcomes, and to use our experience as a possible guide to improve management and outcomes.
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| Patients and methods |
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| Results |
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| Indications for ECMO |
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Three patients with progressively failing Fontan physiology and myocardial dysfunction underwent ECMO cannulation with the intention of using ECMO as a bridge to cardiac transplantation. These patients had been previously palliated with a fenestrated Fontan operation (2, 3, and 10 years prior) and subsequently developed congestive heart failure. All three patients underwent repeat catheterization to address reversible causes of their decline such as the development of new collateral circulation. At the time of cannulation for ECMO, all three had been inpatients receiving inotropic infusions while awaiting cardiac transplantation. Two of these patients suffered a cardiac arrest and ECMO cannulation occurred during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The third patient developed progressive low cardiac output with acidosis, and a large ascending aortic thrombus was demonstrated with echocardiography. He was subsequently cannulated for ECMO due to progressive myocardial failure, presumably from myocardial ischemia.
One Fontan patient had an acute cardiac arrest during fenestration closure at an elective cardiac catheterization that was caused by an air embolus to the coronary arteries. The patient had ventricular fibrillation unresponsive to conventional resuscitation maneuvers. Cannulation for ECMO was accomplished in the catheterization laboratory during CPR.
BDG
Indications for ECMO in the BDG patients included severe low cardiac output after cardiac surgery (n = 3), progressive myocardial failure (n = 2), and acute decompensation in the catheterization laboratory (n = 1) (see Table 2). All patients who required ECMO following the BDG operation had undergone a preoperative evaluation including echocardiography and cardiac catheterization to coil embolize any significant aortopulmonary or venovenous collateral circulation. Only one patient was considered high risk for a BDG on the basis of a preoperative pulmonary vascular resistance of 5.9 Woods units. All three postoperative BDG patients had elevated central venous or pulmonary artery pressures ranging from 20 to 23 mm Hg with cyanosis and(or) systemic hypotension before cannulation. The two BDG patients who underwent ECMO cannulation for progressive myocardial failure were awaiting cardiac transplantation and were receiving inotropic infusions. Both patients had an acute cardiac arrest and were cannulated during CPR. The BDG patient, cannulated during cardiac catheterization, became cyanotic and bradycardic during a hemodynamic study to assess his candidacy for Fontan surgery. He acutely deteriorated during catheter measurement of his distal pulmonary artery pressure. He was unresponsive to conventional resuscitative maneuvers and also underwent cannulation during CPR.
| Cannulation and ECMO flows |
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| ECMO management and subsequent interventions |
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Interventions undertaken during or early after ECMO included three cardiac catheterizations (one hemodynamic study and one pulmonary artery stent in two Fontan patients, and a hemodynamic study in a BDG patient) and seven surgical procedures. The surgeries included three takedowns of the cavopulmonary anastomosis (two Fontan patients converted back to a BDG, both of whom survived, and one BDG patient who died in the operating room during shunt placement), one tricuspid valvuloplasty (BDG), one right coronary artery thrombectomy (BDG), and two heart transplants (1 Fontan, 1 BDG). Only two of the five patients placed on ECMO as a bridge to cardiac transplantation survived to be transplanted.
| Complications |
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| Outcomes |
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| Comment |
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The Fontan circulation was supported more successfully with ECMO than the BDG circulation in our limited patient series. Subgroups of Fontan patients who were successfully supported with ECMO included patients with good myocardial function who had an acute, reversible event (air embolus at catheterization or RSV bronchiolitis) and those with low cardiac output after the Fontan operation who underwent Fontan takedown. Patients at risk for poor outcomes were adult-sized Fontan patients and patients with progressive failure of Fontan physiology with congestive heart failure who had deteriorated to cardiopulmonary arrest.
The BDG circulation was inadequately supported with ECMO in our patient series. While three of six BDG patients were successfully decannulated, all three of these patients had significant neurologic and other end-organ injury, and two of these patients died before hospital discharge. The only BDG survivor was transplanted from ECMO, but she suffered significant brain injury that became apparent after transplantation.
The poor outcome among our patients may be associated with the ongoing need for CPR at the time of ECMO cannulation. Patients with cavopulmonary connections and passive pulmonary blood flow are difficult to resuscitate effectively with conventional CPR. Patients with progressively failing Fontan and BDG physiology have significantly elevated systemic venous pressures, which are likely to decrease cerebral and other end-organ perfusion pressures and compromise oxygen delivery at baseline [2023]. During CPR, the increase in intrathoracic pressure may restrict effective pulmonary blood flow and oxygenation in the Fontan and BDG circulation, as well as increase cerebral venous pressure that will further limit cerebral perfusion. Systemic output during CPR may also be limited by severe atrioventricular valve regurgitation (present in four of our patients who were cannulated during cardiac arrest). Once placed on ECMO, the development of end-organ dysfunction may be irreversible due to limitations of venous drainage and continued atrioventricular valve regurgitation. Therefore, these patients may be best managed by early consideration of ECMO support before deterioration in cardiopulmonary function occurs and end-organs have been severely compromised. Once end-organ dysfunction has occurred and myocardial recovery becomes unlikely, continuing ECMO support will not lead to a favorable outcome. Patients who received CPR for an acute arrest after a reversible event appeared to have better outcomes after CPR, likely due to preserved end-organ function before their acute event.
In our experience, the inability to maintain adequate venous drainage and systemic perfusion in cavopulmonary connections could be a contributing factor for neurologic injury and poor outcomes. This was most notable in the adult-sized Fontan patients. Using large venous cannulae from more than one site augmented venous return, but we often encountered limitations to cannulation of multiple central veins due to vessel occlusions from previous vascular injury. In the postoperative patient, cannulation via the open chest is an option for placement of larger venous cannulae, but this may prolong postoperative bleeding, as we observed in one of our adult Fontan patients. In the single, adult Fontan patient who achieved adequate ECMO flows (116 ml/kg/min) with the subsequent addition of another arterial and venous cannula, progressive end-organ dysfunction could not be reversed despite the improved ECMO flow.
The cannulation of the BDG patient is particularly challenging because of the separation of the systemic venous drainage (SVC to the pulmonary arteries and IVC to the heart). The two postoperative BDG patients supported with a venous cannula placed in the common atrium via an open chest, maintained full ECMO flows with the single venous cannula. However, both died due to lack of myocardial recovery. While the other three BDG patients supported with venoarterial ECMO eventually had a total of two venous cannulae placed (neck and femoral) to achieve full ECMO flow, two of these patients had the femoral cannula placed first, causing a delay in decompression of the SVC. We suspect that elevated venous pressure in the brain contributed to neurologic injury, which became apparent only after ECMO decannulation. In the BDG patient who had the first venous cannula placed percutaneously into the SVC, neurologic function appeared appropriate, but he died from ECMO circuit complications while awaiting cardiac transplantation.
Our experience suggests that significantly elevated SVC pressure, combined with a low systemic blood pressure in a BDG patient during cardiac arrest, places patients at high risk for neurologic injury due to inadequate cerebral perfusion pressure. Therefore, we recommend a cannulation strategy both for Fontan and BDG patients that includes initial decompression of the SVC and pulmonary arteries to maximize cerebral perfusion pressure during the acute resuscitation with a cannulation of head or neck vein, followed by IVC cannulation to incorporate additional lower body venous return to produce adequate ECMO flow. A single venous cannula is often insufficient for venous drainage in the Fontan and BDG circulation, even when the ventricle is ejecting well. After initial venous cannula placement, the presence of SVC syndrome or hepatic congestion suggests inadequate venous decompression, and the cannula may require repositioning or upsizing, if possible. Transthoracic or transesophageal echocardiography should also be considered to image the heart to assess decompression of the ventricle. Additionally, transcranial Doppler evaluation of cerebral blood flow velocity may also be considered to assess the adequacy of cerebral perfusion and venous decompression by the SVC cannula.
Future efforts to support the failing cavopulmonary circulation on ECMO should be focused on improvement of cerebral and other end-organ protection during the periods before and immediately after ECMO cannulation. The incidence of severe neurologic injury among our patient population was 25%. The incidence of multisystem end-organ injury was 30%. Although we cooled the head with ice in an effort to decrease the cerebral metabolic rate during resuscitation, and continued mild cooling on ECMO after cannulation, we speculate there may be a benefit from deeper levels of hypothermia (32°C to 33°C) for cerebral protection [24]. A moderate degree of hypothermia can be achieved rapidly on ECMO and maintained for 12 to 24 hours with the benefit of full cardiovascular support. Moderate hypothermia, combined with maximizing ECMO flows and venous drainage to provide optimal perfusion, could be one strategy to minimize the neurologic and other end-organ injury that occurs during resuscitation of Fontan and BDG patients onto ECMO.
Although this is the largest ECMO experience reported to date in patients with a Fontan or BDG circulation, the relatively small number of patients with diverse problems limits the ability to make inferences or recommendations with certainty. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation can be used successfully in patients with a Fontan circulation as a short-term resuscitative measure, or as a stabilization maneuver, pending surgical takedown of the Fontan. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support should be considered early before the development of end-organ dysfunction, which can be difficult to reverse on ECMO. Particular attention should be given to maximizing venous drainage and systemic perfusion using multiple venous cannulae, specifically with the initial cannula placed above, and the second cannula placed below, the diaphragm. While the survival of BDG patients treated with ECMO continues to be poor, early decompression of the SVC to maximize cerebral perfusion pressure during resuscitation may lead to better neurologic and overall outcomes in the future.
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