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

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 (ECCO 2 R) 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 ECCO 2 R with either MiniLung (Xenios AG, Heilbronn, Germany; n = 10) or Hemolung (ALung Technologies, Pittsburgh, PA; n = 10), or no ECCO 2 R in injured controls (INJC, n = 12).

RESULTS: Immediate postinjury ECCO 2 R 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 CO 2 removal reduced systemic levels of tumor necrosis factor α versus INJC.

CONCLUSION: In swine with severe smoke inhalation and burns, immediate postinjury ECCO 2 R reduced ventilator settings, delayed or prevented ARDS, and reduced its severity. Proactive early percutaneous ECCO 2 R initiation via simplified, purpose-built devices should be considered as a low-maintenance lung injury management approach with significant disease modifying clinical benefit potential.