Establishing a New ECMO Referral Center Using an ICU-Based Approach: A Feasibility and Safety Study

Background: A high-volume center with a multidisciplinary team is regarded as the optimal place for providing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). We hypothesize that an ECMO center can also be successfully created and subsequently developed entirely by intensivists in a mid-size mixed intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: A model was created for setting up a new ECMO referral center within the structure of an existing mixed ICU in a tertiary hospital. A retrospective analysis was carried out of the first 33 patients treated in the initial period of the center’s activity, from mid 2018 to the end of 2020. Results: An ECMO center was established and developed entirely based on the resou…

Implementation of veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a COVID-19 convalescent

Balloon aortic valvuloplasty, Impella insertion and complex coronary intervention: is this all feasible fully percutaneously via upper limb access?

Complex high-risk indicated patients (CHIP) with a limited vascular access constitute a real challenge for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), particularly if they require mechanical circulatory support devices. A 73-year-old man with recent non-ST segment elevation myocardial infraction, depressed left ventricular function (ejection fraction, 40%), aortic stenosis (max/mean gradient, 50/32 mm Hg; aortic valve area and its index, 1.0 cm2 and 0.5 cm2/m2) and numerous comorbidities (including recently diagnosed lung cancer in the initial phase) was scheduled by the heart team for balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) and Impella-supported complex PCI of the left main (LM) and the left ant…

Concomitant use of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and Impella in the intensive care unit: a case report of fulminant myocarditis with multi-organ failure

Vitamin D kinetics in the acute phase of critical illness: A prospective observational study.

Abstract Purpose The objective of this study was to assess the vitamin D kinetics in critically ill patients by performing periodic serum vitamin D measurements in short time intervals in the initial phase of a critical illness. Materials and methods We performed vitamin D serum measurements: at admission and then in 12-hour time intervals. The minimum number of vitamin D measurements was 4, and the maximum was 8 per patient. Results A total of 363 patients were evaluated for participation, and 20 met the inclusion criteria. All patients had an initial serum vitamin D level between 10.6 and 39 ng/mL. Nineteen patients had vitamin D levels between 10 and 30 ng/mL, which means that they had v…