Epidemiology of blood stream infection in adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients: A cohort study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of our study was to characterize the epidemiology of blood stream infection (BSI) in adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) patients at a single tertiary care academic medical center with standardized post-cannulation antibiotic prophylaxis practices.

METHODS: A single-center retrospective cohort study was performed over a five-year period. BSI incidence was characterized and patients who developed BSI during ECMO were compared with those who did not.

RESULTS: Nineteen of 145 VV ECMO patients (13.1%) developed BSI while 7 of 123 VA ECMO patients (5.7%) developed BSI. When accounting for total ECMO days, the incidence rate was 8 BSIs per 1,000 ECMO days for both VV and VA ECMO patients. VV ECMO patients with BSI had longer ECMO runs and more red blood cell transfusion (both p<0.05). VA ECMO patients who developed BSI had longer ECMO runs and more platelet transfusion (both p<0.05). In VV ECMO patients there was an association between renal failure and BSI and in VA ECMO patients there was an association between hepatic failure and BSI.

CONCLUSIONS: BSIs are common in ECMO patients even with post-cannulation antimicrobial prophylaxis and are associated with ECMO duration, blood transfusion, and organ failure. Further work is needed to clarify the optimal duration and type of antimicrobial prophylaxis, as well as surveillance strategies for BSIs during adult ECMO.