Outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and brought to a referral center

PURPOSE: Patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are candidates for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy. The evaluation of organ severity is difficult in patients considered for cannulation in a distant hospital. This study was designed to identify early factors associated with hospital mortality in ARDS patients treated with ECMO and retrieved from referring hospitals. METHODS: Data from 85 consecutive ARDS patients equipped with ECMO by our mobile team and consequently admitted to our ICU were prospectively collected and analyzed. RESULTS: The main ARDS etiologies were community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (35 %), influenza pneumonia (23 %) (with 12 patients having been treated during the first half of the study period), and nosocomial pneumonia (14 %). The median (interquartile range) time between contact from the referring hospital and patient cannulation was 3 (1–4) h. ECMO was venovenous in 77 (91 %) patients. No complications occurred during transport by our mobile unit. Forty-eight patients died at the hospital (56 %). Based on a multivariate logistic regression, a score including age, SOFA score, and a diagnosis of influenza pneumonia was constructed. The probability of hospital mortality following ECMO initiation was 40 % in the 0–2 score class (n = 58) and 93 % in the 3–4 score class (n = 27). Patients with an influenza pneumonia diagnosis and a SOFA score before ECMO of less than 12 had a mortality rate of 22 %. CONCLUSIONS: Age, SOFA score, and a diagnosis of influenza may be used to accurately evaluate the risk of death in ARDS patients considered for retrieval under ECMO from distant hospitals.