Post-Cardiotomy Extracorporeal Life Support Following Aortic Surgery

Aortic surgery carries high risks and complication rates, particularly when extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is required. We compared outcomes of patients receiving post-cardiotomy ECLS after surgeries involving or not involving the thoracic aorta, with a focus on emergency operations. This retrospective multicenter study included adults requiring veno-arterial (V-A) ECLS for post-cardiotomy shock. In-hospital outcomes and long-term survival were analyzed. Among 2,058 patients, 382 (18.6%) underwent aortic and 1,676 (81.4%) non-aortic surgery. Patients undergoing aortic operations were younger (63.0, interquartile range [IQR]: 54.4–70 years; non-aortic: 65.0, IQR: 55–72 years; p = 0.020), with more emergencies (n = 126, 33.1%; non-aortic: n = 402, 24.3%; p < 0.001), longer cross-clamp times (148, IQR: 101–203 mins; non-aortic: 90, IQR: 59–133 mins; p < 0.001) and more postoperative bleeding events (n = 234, 62.4%; non-aortic: n = 922, 56.0%; p = 0.024). Stroke was more frequent after aortic surgery (n = 60, 15.8%; non-aortic: n = 157, 9.4%; p < 0.001), especially in emergency cases (n = 27, 21.6%; p = 0.034). In-hospital mortality was greater after aortic surgery (n = 258, 67.5%; non-aortic: n = 986, 58.8%; p = 0.002), with 49.9% (n = 189) on-ECLS mortality. Neurological injury caused death in 8.9% (n = 22) of patients undergoing aortic and 4.0% (n = 36) non-aortic operations. Post-discharge survival was similar ( p = 0.32), and emergency status did not affect mortality in the aortic group ( p = 0.643). Veno-arterial extracorporeal life support after aortic surgery is associated with higher bleeding, stroke, and in-hospital mortality compared with non-aortic surgery, independent of emergency status.