Côme Bureau, Matthieu Schmidt, Juliette Chommeloux, Isabelle Rivals, Thomas Similowski, Guillaume Hékimian, Charles-Edouard Luyt, Marie-Cécile Niérat, Laurence Dangers, Martin Dres, Alain Combes, Capucine Morélot-Panzini, Alexandre Demoule
BACKGROUND.: Data on assessment and management of dyspnea in patients on veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) for cardiogenic shock are lacking. We hypothesized that increasing sweep gas flow through the VA-ECMO oxygenator may decrease dyspnea in non-intubated VA-ECMO patients exhibiting clinically significant dyspnea, with a parallel reduction in respiratory drive. METHODS.: Non-intubated, spontaneously breathing, supine patients on VA-ECMO for cardiogenic shock who presented with a visual analog dyspnea scale (dyspnea-VAS) ≥ 40/100 mm were included...
March 4, 2024: Anesthesiology