How Long Should Patients Be Treated With Postcardiotomy Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation? Individual Patient Data Pooled Analysis

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the optimal duration of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for cardiogenic shock refractory to medical therapies after cardiac surgery and whether its prolonged use is justified. DATA SOURCES: Previously published articles on postcardiotomy venoarterial ECMO. STUDY SELECTION: Articles reporting on the early outcome after postcardiotomy venoarterial ECMO in adult patients were identified through a systematic review of the literature. DATA EXTRACTION: Data on prespecified patients’ characteristics, operative variables, and outcomes were provided by the authors of previous studies on this topic. DATA SYNTHESIS: Individual data of 1267 patients treated at 25 hospitals from ten studies were included in this meta-analysis. In-hospital mortality rates were lowest among patients treated 3–6 days with venoarterial ECMO. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression considering the cluster effect of the participating hospitals adjusted for individual patient‘s risk profile and operative variables showed that the risk in-hospital mortality did not significantly increase in patients treated more than 6 days up to 20 days. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrated that prolonged venoarterial ECMO support after adult cardiac surgery may be justified. However, the analysis was limited by the knowledge of only those circumstances known at the start of ECMO.