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The extracorporeal CO2 removal device (ECCO2RD) is used in clinics to treat patients suffering from respiratory failures like acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this device is to decarboxylate blood externally with low blood flow. A mathematical model is proposed to describe protective ventilation, ARDS, and an extracorporeal CO2 removal therapy (ECCO2RT). The simulations are compared with experimental data carried out on ten pigs. The results show a good agreement between the mathematical simulations and the experimental data, which provides a nice validation of the model. This model is thus able to predict the decrease of PCO2 during ECCO2RT for different blood flows across the extracorporeal lung support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the patients with progressively decompensating acute or acute-on-chronic respiratory failure, the first-choice treatment remains as mechanical ventilation. Despite the consistent value of mechanical ventilation, the majority of lung specialists are aware of its limitations, in particular for the patients with advanced lung failure, and inherent drawbacks that augment disease progression. More recently, the concept of allowing the lungs to ‘rest and recover’ has been supported by quite a few clinical studies. The pressure and volume of gas delivered to the lungs are reduced compared with mechanical ventilation. Based on recent remarkable evidence and experiences using extracorporeal lung support (ECLS) before, during and after lung transplant, there is growing interest in and expectations for the use of ECLS beyond lung transplant to encompass the entire field of pulmonary medicine. The purpose of this review article is to provide an update on evolving ECLS technologies and their effectiveness and discuss the future of ECLS for advanced lung failure as a new subspecialty in cardiothoracic surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracorporeal assistances are exponentially used for patients, with acute severe but reversible heart or lung failure, to provide more prolonged support to bridge patients to heart and/or lung transplantation. However, experience of use of extracorporeal assistance for pulmonary resection is limited outside lung transplantation. Airways management with standard mechanical ventilation system may be challenging particularly in case of anatomical reasons (single lung), presence of respiratory failure (ARDS), or complex tracheo-bronchial resection and reconstruction. Based on the growing experience during lung transplantation, more and more surgeons are now using such devices to achieve good oxygenation and hemodynamic support during such challenging cases. We review the different extracorporeal device and attempt to clarify the current practice and indications of extracorporeal support during pulmonary resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In severe cases of respiratory failure it may be impossible to achieve adequate gas exchange while using protective settings of mechanical ventilation, which in turn may result in further lung damage. Cardiac bypass machines for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (cardiac bypass) have been used in the past for rescue management of patients with critical hypoxaemia, however their use was limited to centres with cardiac surgery facilities and the complication rates were high. New technology, primarily aimed at supporting the respiratory function, has been introduced to clinical practice in the recent years -- 'pulmonary' extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Improved oxygenation and CO2 elimination allows ventilator settings to be less aggressive and the term 'ultra-protective mechanical ventilation' has emerged. ECMO has become the default management of some conditions and in some groups of patients (such as COPD patients or lung transplant awaiting patients) it has allowed the patients to stay off mechanical ventilation. This article is aimed at the principles, indications and uses of ECMO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the safety of percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) in critically ill patients on an extracorporeal lung assist device requiring therapeutic anticoagulation. Methods: This was a retrospective, observational study on all patients undergoing tracheostomy while on pumpless extracorporeal lung assist or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in intensive care units of two university hospitals in Germany between 2007 and 2013. Results: During the study period PDT was performed on 118 patients. The median platelet count, international normalized ratio, and activated partial thromboplastin time before tracheostomy were 126 × 10/L (range 16-617 × 10/L), 1.1 (0.9-2.0) and 49 s (28-117 s), respectively. Seventeen patients (14.4 %) received a maximum of three bags of pooled platelets, and eight patients (6.8 %) received a maximum of four units of fresh frozen plasma before the procedure. In all patients the administration of intravenous heparin was briefly paused periprocedurally. No periprocedural clotting complication within the extracorporeal circuit was observed. Two patients (1.7 %) suffered from procedure-related major bleeding, with one patient requiring conversion to a surgical tracheostomy. Two pneumothoraces (1.7 %) were related to the PDT. One patient (0.8 %) had analgosedation-related hypotension with brief and successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Minor bleeding from the tracheostomy site occurred in 37 cases (31.4 %). No fatality was attributable to tracheostomy. Conclusions: The complication rates of PDT in the patients on extracorporeal lung support were low and comparable to those of other critically ill patients. Based on these results, we conclude that PDT performed by experienced operators with careful optimization of the coagulation state is a relatively safe procedure and not contraindicated for this patient group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Severe trauma with concomitant chest injury is frequently associated with acute lung failure (ALF). This report summarizes our experience with extracorporeal lung support (ELS) in thoracic trauma patients treated at the University Medical Center Regensburg. Methods: A retrospective, observational analysis of prospectively collected data (Regensburg ECMO Registry database) was performed for all consecutive trauma patients with acute pulmonary failure requiring ELS during a 10-year interval. Results: Between April 2002 and April 2012, 52 patients (49 male, three female) with severe thoracic trauma and ALF refractory to conventional therapy required ELS. The mean age was 32 ± 14 years (range, 16 to 72 years). Major traffic accident (73%) was the most common trauma, followed by blast injury (17%), deep fall (8%) and blunt trauma (2%). The mean Injury Severity Score was 58.9 ± 10.5, the mean lung injury score was 3.3 ± 0.6 and the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score was 10.5 ± 3. Twenty-six patients required pumpless extracorporeal lung assist (PECLA) and 26 patients required veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (vv-ECMO) for primary post-traumatic respiratory failure. The mean time to ELS support was 5.2 ± 7.7 days (range, <24 hours to 38 days) and the mean ELS duration was 6.9 ± 3.6 days (range, <24 hours to 19 days). In 24 cases (48%) ELS implantation was performed in an external facility, and cannulation was done percutaneously by Seldinger's technique in 98% of patients. Cannula-related complications occurred in 15% of patients (PECLA, 19% (n = 5); vv-ECMO, 12% (n = 3)). Surgery was performed in 44 patients, with 16 patients under ELS prevention. Eight patients (15%) died during ELS support and three patients (6%) died after ELS weaning. The overall survival rate was 79% compared with the proposed Injury Severity Score-related mortality (59%). Conclusion: Pumpless and pump-driven ELS systems are an excellent treatment option in severe thoracic trauma patients with ALF and facilitate survival in an experienced trauma center with an interdisciplinary treatment approach. We encourage the use of vv-ECMO due to reduced complication rates, better oxygenation and best short-term outcome [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Despite advances in targeted medical therapy, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remains a fatal disease because of progressive right ventricular dysfunction. For patients who are refractory to medical therapy, heart-lung and lung transplantation are important treatment options. Because of longer waiting time, surgical interventions including extracorporeal lung support and atrial septostomy can be used in PAH patients bridging to transplantation., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Lung transplantation (LTx) is the only effective treatment for end-stage lung disease. In rapidly deteriorating patients awaiting transplant, supportive strategies for lung function allow only a short period of support and lung transplantation remains the definitive therapy. An urgent transplant programme may reduce the waiting time, allowing lung transplantation in these patients., Methods: Since November 2010 a nation-wide urgent lung transplant programme has been established in Italy and patients on the waiting list dependent on mechanical ventilation and/or extracorporeal lung support (ECLS) can be transplanted on an emergency basis with the first available graft in the country. Results of the first 14 months of this programme are analysed here., Results: From November 2010 to December 2011, 28 patients (14 males, mean age 33.6 ± 14.4 years) were considered for urgent LTx. Rapidly deteriorating lung function was supported with mechanical ventilation alone in 4 patients (14.3%), ECLS in 13 patients (46.4%) and mechanical ventilation plus ECLS in the remaining 11 patients (39.3%). Three patients (10.7%) were excluded because of worsening conditions, 3 patients (10.7%) while on the urgent listed and 22 patients (78.6%) underwent transplantation after 9.8 ± 6.2 days of being on the urgent list. The 30-day mortality rate after LTx was 18%, and the 1-year survival rate was 71.4%., Conclusions: The urgent lung transplant programme allowed transplantation in a significant percentage of prioritized patients with acceptable 30-day and 1-year mortality rates. An accurate selection of recipients may further improve the clinical impact of this programme, reducing the ethical concerns about transplantation in high-risk patients., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.)