Prognostic echocardiographic findings in patients supported with venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for cardiogenic shock.

Aims: Echocardiography is critical in the management of patients supported with veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A ECMO). This study aimed to identify the incidence of critical echocardiographic findings and determine their prognostic significance.

Methods And Results: All available echocardiograms, hemodynamic variables and outcomes of patients with CS supported with V-A in the period of 2011-2018 at the Toronto General Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Critical echocardiographic findings were defined as minimal to no left ventricular (LV) ejection, the presence of intra-cardiac clot, significant pericardial effusion and malpositioning of ECMO cannulae. 130 patients were included in this study with in-hospital mortality of 58.5%. Critical findings were most often seen in the first echocardiogram (42/121; 35%). The incidence of critical findings in the first echocardiogram was minimal to no LV ejection in 28 patients (23%), intracardiac thromboses in 8 patients (6.6%), tamponade in 5 patients (4%) and malpositioned cannulae in 1 patient (0.8%). Presence of a critical finding in the first study was associated with an odds ratio for in-hospital mortality of 2.32 (95% CI 1.01-5.06, P = 0.011).

Conclusion: The initial echocardiogram was most likely to demonstrate a critical finding of which the most common was minimal to no LV ejection. Critical echocardiographic findings carried prognostic significance for in-hospital mortality.