Immediate postinjury extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal reduces ventilator requirements and mitigates acute respiratory distress syndrome in swine

Andriy I. Batchinsky*, Teryn R. Roberts, Bryan S. Jordan, Brendan M. Beely, Daniel S. Wendorff, Corina Necsoiu, Jeremy W. Cannon, Kevin K. Chung, Leopoldo C. Cancio

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND Awareness of ventilator-induced lung injury contributed to increased use of extracorporeal interventions, but not immediately after injury, before acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) ensues. Our objective was to evaluate the role of venovenous extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) in management of mechanically ventilated swine with smoke inhalation injury and 40% body surface area burns. METHODS Yorkshire swine (n = 29, 43.2 ± 0.5 kg) underwent anesthesia, instrumentation, severe smoke inhalation, and 40% body surface area burns, followed by 72 hours of round-the-clock intensive care unit care with mechanical ventilation, fluids, pressors, bronchoscopic cast removal, computer tomography scans, and arterial blood assays. Within 1 hour after injury, animals received ECCO2R with either MiniLung (Xenios AG, Heilbronn, Germany; n = 10) or Hemolung (ALung Technologies, Pittsburgh, PA; n = 10), or no ECCO2R in injured controls (INJC, n = 12). RESULTS Immediate postinjury ECCO2R reduced minute ventilation (p < 0.001) and prevented ARDS in 37.5% of MiniLung and 11.1% of Hemolung animals. Time to ARDS (partial pressure of arterial oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen ratio below 300) was shortest (14 ± 2.2 hours) in INJC, intermediate (21.6 ± 3.5 hours) in Hemolung (HEMO), and most delayed in MiniLung (31.1 ± 7.2 hours, p = 0.0121, log-rank test vs. INJC). Driving pressure was lower in MiniLung versus INJC (p < 0.0001) and HEMO versus INJC (p = 0.0005) at 48 hours. Extracorporeal CO2 removal reduced systemic levels of tumor necrosis factor α versus INJC. CONCLUSION In swine with severe smoke inhalation and burns, immediate postinjury ECCO2R reduced ventilator settings, delayed or prevented ARDS, and reduced its severity. Proactive early percutaneous ECCO2R initiation via simplified, purpose-built devices should be considered as a low-maintenance lung injury management approach with significant disease modifying clinical benefit potential.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)500-509
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
Volume98
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Mar 2025
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Acute respiratory distress syndrome
  • smoke inhalation injury
  • swine
  • translational medicine
  • venovenous extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal

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