Pulmonary congestion and mortality during venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO): does time matter?

Pieter S. van der Wal, Peter-Paul Zwetsloot, Olaf L Cremer, Dirk W. Donker, Christiaan L. Meuwese*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/Letter to the editorAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

In a recent edition of this Journal, an intriguing study was published which examined the association between (development of) pulmonary congestion (PC) and mortality in patients with post-cardiotomy cardiogenic shock requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). [ [1] ] Distelmaier and colleagues observed in 266 patients that presence of PC on days 3 and 5 —but not day 0— after ECMO initiation was negatively associated with survival. We were struck by the apparent disparity in impact of PC on mortality between first and subsequent days. We are concerned that two methodological issues might have caused this apparent difference; selection (survivor) bias and confounding.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)107-107
Number of pages1
JournalEuropean Journal of Internal Medicine
Volume86
Early online date19 Jan 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • n/a OA procedure

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