Extracorporeal life support after failure of thrombolysis in pulmonary embolism

Introduction: Fulminant pulmonary embolism (PE) may lead to cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest with high mortality rates (65%) despite treatment with thrombolysis. Patients not responding to this therapy might benefit from extracorporeal life support (ECLS). Only occasional case reports of ECLS in PE patients are available. We studied the use of ECLS after thrombolysis in patients suffering from refractory cardiogenic shock due to PE. Material and methods: Patients who were admitted to our university intensive care unit (ICU) with PE, not responding to thrombolysis, and who received subsequent ECLS treatment were studied. Results: 12 patients with severe PE were included. 6 patients were admitted by emergency medical services, 5 patients were transferred to the ICU from other hospitals and one patient presented at the emergency department by herself. 11 of 12 patients suffered from cardiac arrest and needed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before ECLS implantation. Three ECLS were implanted during CPR and nine ECLS were implanted during emergency conditions in patients with cardiogenic shock. All patients received thrombolysis before implementation of ECLS. Mean duration of ICU treatment was 22.4 +/- 23.0 days. Mean duration of ECLS therapy was 5.6 +/- 6.5 days. Bleeding complications occurred in four patients. Complications directly related to the ECLS system occurred in two patients (overall complication rate 42%). Overall, 6 of 12 patients (50%) survived. Conclusions: ECLS may be considered as a bailout therapy in PE patients not responding to prior definitive treatment such as thrombolysis. ECLS therapy seems to be feasible with an acceptable complication rate even after thrombolysis.