What are the outcomes and survival rates of ECMO use in peripartum patients with respiratory and/or cardiac failure?
ECMO can be successfully used as a bridge to recovery in critically ill peripartum patients, achieving a 78% survival to discharge rate despite risks of infection and hemorrhage.
BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) use in peripartum patients is rare, and there is a gap in the literature on the outcomes and guidance on using ECMO in peripartum patients. This study describes ECMO strategies our institution uses for peripartum patients and reports outcomes of ECMO use in peripartum patients with respiratory and/or cardiac failure. METHODS: A case series of all peripartum patients, defined as pregnant or up to 6 weeks after delivery of an infant >20 weeks gestation, from 2018 to 2023 from a single center requiring ECMO support. Patients were included if ECMO was initiated in the setting of cardiac, pulmonary, or combined failure. Patient demographics, operative details, ECMO data, and adverse outcomes for maternal, fetus, and neonates were all collected. RESULTS: = 10, 55%). ECMO was a bridge to recovery for all patients, of whom 14 (78%) were discharged out of the hospital alive. No patients received transplantation or a durable mechanical device. The most common complications were infection (25%) and postpartum hemorrhage (22%). CONCLUSIONS: ECMO use in peripartum patients in a single tertiary center was associated with a high survival rate. Furthermore, a strong multidisciplinary team, careful reevaluation of clinical trajectory, and consideration of complications and risks associated with using ECMO in peripartum patients are possible frameworks to use when challenged with critically ill peripartum patients.
Wong et al. (Tue,) studied this question.