Abstract
Background: Multiple major health organisations recommend the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support for COVID-19-related acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure. However, initial reports of ECMO use in patients with COVID-19 described very high mortality and there have been no large, international cohort studies of ECMO for COVID-19 reported to date. Methods: We used data from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) Registry to characterise the epidemiology, hospital course, and outcomes of patients aged 16 years or older with confirmed COVID-19 who had ECMO support initiated between Jan 16 and May 1, 2020, at 213 hospitals in 36 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital death in a time-to-event analysis assessed at 90 days after ECMO initiation. We applied a multivariable Cox model to examine whether patient and hospital factors were associated with in-hospital mortality. Findings: Data for 1035 patients with COVID-19 who received ECMO support were included in this study. Of these, 67 (6%) remained hospitalised, 311 (30%) were discharged home or to an acute rehabilitation centre, 101 (10%) were discharged to a long-term acute care centre or unspecified location, 176 (17%) were discharged to another hospital, and 380 (37%) died. The estimated cumulative incidence of in-hospital mortality 90 days after the initiation of ECMO was 37·4% (95% CI 34·4–40·4). Mortality was 39% (380 of 968) in patients with a final disposition of death or hospital discharge. The use of ECMO for circulatory support was independently associated with higher in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio 1·89, 95% CI 1·20–2·97). In the subset of patients with COVID-19 receiving respiratory (venovenous) ECMO and characterised as having acute respiratory distress syndrome, the estimated cumulative incidence of in-hospital mortality 90 days after the initiation of ECMO was 38·0% (95% CI 34·6–41·5). Interpretation: In patients with COVID-19 who received ECMO, both estimated mortality 90 days after ECMO and mortality in those with a final disposition of death or discharge were less than 40%. These data from 213 hospitals worldwide provide a generalisable estimate of ECMO mortality in the setting of COVID-19. Funding: None.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1071-1078 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | The Lancet |
| Volume | 396 |
| Issue number | 10257 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 10 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:RPB is the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) Registry Chair. GM, RHB, PTR, and DB are members of the ELSO Executive Committee. PSB has received funding from ELSO for statistical analysis unrelated to this study. SJH receives payment from ELSO to maintain the ELSO website and ELSO Data Entry System. PTR receives payment from ELSO in his role as executive director of ELSO. RPB, CLA, and KH are members of the ELSO Steering Committee. RL and AC are past members of the European ELSO Steering Committee. JET, RH, JJF, and MMA are members of the ELSO Registry committee. EF the chair of the ELSO Device Development Committee. RPB reports grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support research activities not specific to this study (K12 HL138039; R01 HL153519). TJI reports that he is a US government employee. ASS reports grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (OV3-170344 and 137772) and personal fees from Baxter and Novalung/Xenios, which are unrelated to the submitted work. EF reports personal fees from ALung Technologies, Fresenius Medical Care, and MC3 Cardiopulmonary that are unrelated to the submitted work. JET reports grants from NIH as well as personal fees from LivaNova and Philips Healthcare, unrelated to the submitted work. RL reports personal fees from Medtronic, LivaNova, Eurosets, and PulseCath, unrelated to the submitted work. AC reports personal fees from Maquet, Baxter, and Xenios, unrelated to the submitted work. DB reports grants from ALung Technologies, reports a current relationship of medical advisory board with Hemovent, and reports personal fees from Baxter, Abiomed, and Xenios, all of which are unrelated to the submitted work. RD declares no competing interests.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
