Alexa-Rae P.

Zagado
RLE – Surgical Ward
Mrs. Glenda Belardino
August 8, 2019

Scientific Journal
“Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Septic Shock”

This journal by Lars Falk, MD; Jan Hultman, MD, PhD; Lars Mikael Broman,
MD, PhD highlights the projected theory that venoarterial extracorporeal membrane
oxygenation can relieve a failing myocardial function. The study is a retrospective
observational study that takes place in a single, high-volume extracorporeal
membrane oxygen unit.

Septic shock has a high mortality rate and is the highest risk of death during
intensive care. ECMO is a treatment that uses a pump to circulate blood through an
artificial lung back into the bloodstream of a very ill baby. This system provides
heart-lung bypass support outside of the baby's body. It may help support a child
who is awaiting a heart or lung transplant. This is not popularly used in treating
adult patients as with the pediatric and neonatal populations, but has gained
popularity and acceptance to treatment of adults with severe respiratory failure.
Now, they want to see how useful this treatment is in adults who have gone through
septic shock.

This study aims to describe a population with septic shock with a

combination of acute respiratory distress syndrome and cytotoxic cardiac failure or
distributive shock suggested to ECMO treatment at this center.

The patients used for this study were treated for septic shock between the
years 2012 and 2017 with an age greater than 18 years old. They must fulfill the
septic shock criteria according to “Sepsis-3” at acceptance for ECMO with a presence
of cardiocirculatory failure that requires a support that is equivalent to a Vasoactive
Inotropic Score greater than 50 in order to reach a mean arterial pressure greater
than 65 mmHg despite adequate fluid resuscitation.

In conclusion, this study has proven that peripheral cannulation ECMO

support may be beneficial for both hospital and long-term survival within the mixed
population of both distributive septic shock, and septic shock with cytotoxic cardiac
failure. Patients who experience septic shock should be a