Abstract
Background: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the impact of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA−ECMO) integrated hemoadsorption on the reversal of multiorgan and microcirculatory dysfunction, and early mortality of refractory cardiogenic shock patients. Methods: Propensity score−matched cohort study of 29 pairs of patients. Subjects received either VA−ECMO supplemented with hemoadsorption or standard VA−ECMO management. Results: There was a lower mean sequential organ failure assessment score (p = 0.04), lactate concentration (p = 0.015), P(v−a)CO2 gap (p < 0.001), vasoactive inotropic score (p = 0.007), and reduced delta C−reactive protein level (p = 0.005) in the hemoadsorption compared to control groups after 72 h. In−hospital mortality was similar to the predictions in the control group (62.1%) and was much lower than the predicted value in the hemoadsorption group (44.8%). There were less ECMO-associated bleeding complications in the hemoadsorption group compared to controls (p = 0.049). Overall, 90-day survival was better in the hemoadsorption group than in controls without statistical significance. Conclusion: VA−ECMO integrated hemoadsorption treatment was associated with accelerated recovery of multiorgan and microcirculatory dysfunction, mitigated inflammatory response, less bleeding complications, and lower risk for early mortality in comparison with controls.