Arterial Carbon Dioxide and Acute Brain Injury in Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
Benjamin L. Shou, Chin Siang Ong, Alice L. Zhou, Mais Al‐Kawaz, Eric Etchill, Katherine Giuliano, Jie Dong, Errol L. Bush, Bo Soo Kim, Chun Woo Choi, Glenn Whitman, Sung‐Min Cho
Abstract
Acute brain injury (ABI) occurs frequently in patients receiving venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). We examined the association between peri-cannulation arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO 2 ) and ABI with granular blood gas data. We retrospectively analyzed adult patients who underwent VA-ECMO at a tertiary care center with standardized neuromonitoring. Pre- and post-cannulation PaCO 2 were defined as the mean of all PaCO 2 values in the 12 hours before and after cannulation, respectively. Peri-cannulation PaCO 2 drop (∆PaCO 2 ) equaled pre- minus post-cannulation PaCO 2 . ABI included intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), ischemic stroke, hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, cerebral edema, seizure, and brain death. Univariable logistic regression analysis was performed for the presence of ABI. Out of 129 VA-ECMO patients (median age = 60, 63% male), 43 (33%) patients experienced ABI. Patients had a median of 11 (interquartile range: 8-14) peri-cannulation PaCO 2 values. Comparing patients with and without ABI, pre-cannulation (39 vs. 42 mm Hg; p = 0.38) and post-cannulation (37 vs. 36 mm Hg; p = 0.82) PaCO 2 were not different. However, higher pre-cannulation PaCO 2 (odds ratio [OR] = 2.10; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.10-4.00; p = 0.02) and larger ∆PaCO 2 (OR = 2.69; 95% CI = 1.18-6.13; p = 0.02) were associated with ICH. In conclusion, in a cohort with granular arterial blood gas (ABG) data and a standardized neuromonitoring protocol, higher pre-cannulation PaCO 2 and larger ∆PaCO 2 were associated with increased prevalence of ICH.