Emergency veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO)-supported percutaneous interventions in refractory cardiac arrest and profound cardiogenic shock

Aims We investigated the spectrum of emergency veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO)-supported interventions including percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and invasive electrophysiology (EP). Methods and results Between June 2010 and February 2020, 52 consecutive patients underwent VA ECMO implantation for refractory cardiac arrest (E-CPR) and 78 for profound cardiogenic shock. Percutaneous interventions on VA ECMO included PCI (n = 29), TAVI (n = 4) and EP (n = 1). Surgical interventions were cardiac (n = 36) or non-cardiac (n = 5). During PCI, ECMO flow was maintained at 2.7 ± 1.0 L/min. Of the 40 treated lesions, 48% were located on left anterior descending and 20% on the left main artery. An average 2.0 ± 1.8 DES/patient with diameter 3.2 ± 0.5 mm and stented length 41 ± 35 mm were implanted. PCI success was 83%. TAVI was performed in 4 patients with left ventricular ejection fraction 21 ± 10% and mean aortic valve gradient 41 ± 5 mmHg. After successful valve implantation supported by 1.4 ± 0.1 L/min ECMO flow, mean gradient decreased to 11 ± 5 mmHg without significant aortic regurgitation. In one patient radiofrequency ablation of His bundle followed by permanent pacemaker implantation was performed under ECMO flow of 2.8 L/min. Overall survival to hospital discharge with good neurological recovery was 29% in E-CPR and 44% in profound cardiogenic shock. Conclusions Our study showed feasibility and effectiveness of VA ECMO-supported percutaneous interventions in patients with profound hemodynamic collapse.