Levosimendan for Veno-arterial ECMO Weaning (WEANECMO)

Levosimendan for Reducing Veno-arterial ECMO Weaning Failure During Refractory Cardiogenic Shock: a Retrospective Propensity Score Analysis

Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is a temporary mechanical circulatory support that has been increasingly used over the last decade to restore and maintain adequate end-organ perfusion, with data suggesting improvement in outcome for patients with refractory cardiogenic shock. Nevertheless, VA-ECMO weaning should be questioned every day during patient's support. Indeed, studies have shown that the incidence of severe complications related to ECMO is associated with longer circulatory support duration. Inotropes such as dobutamine are currently used to improve myocardial contractility during VA-ECMO support with the aim to enhance left ventricular ejection, aortic valve opening and to shorten ECMO duration. However, many data suggest an increase in mortality related to predisposition to myocardial ischemia and arrythmias. Levosimendan is a calcium sensitizing inotropic agent with systemic, coronary and pulmonary vasodilatory properties and specific cardioprotective effect without increasing myocardial oxygen consumption. The use of levosimendan in patients undergoing VA-ECMO may therefore be of interest both to reduce the duration of mechanical support and to minimize severe complication with few data suggesting a potential benefit of levosimendan for VA-ECMO weaning and survival in post-cardiotomy low cardiac output syndrome with improvement of endothelial function and hemodynamics. Investigators therefore sought to investigate whether the use of levosimendan improves weaning for patients undergoing VA-ECMO support for refractory cardiogenic shock hospitalized in the surgical intensive care unit (ICU).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cardiogenic Shock; Refractory Shock
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Data collection; Other: Data analysis

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 200

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Bron, France, 69500
    • Hopital Louis Pradel

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Investigators performed a retrospective single-center cohort study. All patients undergoing VA-ECMO from January 2012 to December 2018 were eligible and divided into two groups: group levosimendan and group control (without levosimendan

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age ≥18 years
• All consecutive patients admitted with VA-ECMO support for refractory cardiogenic shock
• All consecutive patients admitted for lobectomy or wedge video-assisted thoracoscopy
• Levosimendan administration was left to the discretion of the attending clinician

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age < 18 years
• VA-ECMO duration < 48h
• VA-ECMO for refractory cardiac arrest
• Right heart or veno-venous ECMO
• VA-ECMO for circulatory failure following lung transplant surgery.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Cohort
• Time Perspectives: Retrospective

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
levosimendan group; All patients undergoing VA-ECMO from January 2012 to December 2018 and treated with levosimendan were eligible.	Other: Data collection; Clinical data are collected from the medical record of the institution. At admission, date were collected on age, gender, body mass index, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, history of stroke or congestive heart failure, coronary or peripheral artery disease, renal failure with dialysis, Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction(LVEF), Tricuspid Annular Plane Systolic Excursion, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, central venous pressure, ScvO2, presence of an intra-aortic balloon pump and biochemical parameters. During hospitalization data were collected on reason for initiation of VA-ECMO and its characteristics (duration, type, flow L/min, RPM, FiO2), length of stay in ICU, catecholamines and inotropes maximal dose and length of administration, patients with heart transplantation or LVAD. In patients with levosimendan treatment, timing of administration regarding ECMO canulation was collected; Other: Data analysis; Continuous variables were presented as mean ± standard deviation and compared using Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test depending on their normality. Categorical variables were presented as counts and percentages and compared using Pearson's chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. Survival at day 28 was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log rank test. Investigators conducted a multivariable logistic regression with propensity score matching, which was defined as the probability of exposure to levosimendan. Results were reported as odd ratios (ORs) together its 95%CI assuming a 5% level of statistical significance. All analyses were carried out using STATA 15.0 (Stata Corp, College Station, Texas 77845 USA).
group control; All patients undergoing VA-ECMO from January 2012 to December 2018 but not treated with levosimendan were eligible.	Other: Data collection; Clinical data are collected from the medical record of the institution. At admission, date were collected on age, gender, body mass index, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, history of stroke or congestive heart failure, coronary or peripheral artery disease, renal failure with dialysis, Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction(LVEF), Tricuspid Annular Plane Systolic Excursion, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, central venous pressure, ScvO2, presence of an intra-aortic balloon pump and biochemical parameters. During hospitalization data were collected on reason for initiation of VA-ECMO and its characteristics (duration, type, flow L/min, RPM, FiO2), length of stay in ICU, catecholamines and inotropes maximal dose and length of administration, patients with heart transplantation or LVAD. In patients with levosimendan treatment, timing of administration regarding ECMO canulation was collected; Other: Data analysis; Continuous variables were presented as mean ± standard deviation and compared using Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test depending on their normality. Categorical variables were presented as counts and percentages and compared using Pearson's chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. Survival at day 28 was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log rank test. Investigators conducted a multivariable logistic regression with propensity score matching, which was defined as the probability of exposure to levosimendan. Results were reported as odd ratios (ORs) together its 95%CI assuming a 5% level of statistical significance. All analyses were carried out using STATA 15.0 (Stata Corp, College Station, Texas 77845 USA).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
VA-ECMO weaning failure defined as death	The primary endpoint was VA-ECMO weaning failure defined as death during ECMO support or death within 24h after ECMO removal.	24 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Impact of exposure to levosimendan (at day 28)	Secondary endpoints were the impact of exposure to levosimendan on mortality at day 28 after VA-ECMO canulation.	Day 28
Impact of exposure to levosimendan (at 6 months)	Secondary endpoints were the impact of exposure to levosimendan on mortality at 6 months after VA-ECMO canulation.	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hospices Civils de Lyon

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Guilherme E, Jacquet-Lagreze M, Pozzi M, Achana F, Armoiry X, Fellahi JL. Can levosimendan reduce ECMO weaning failure in cardiogenic shock?: a cohort study with propensity score analysis. Crit Care. 2020 Jul 16;24(1):442. doi: 10.1186/s13054-020-03122-y. Erratum In: Crit Care. 2020 Aug 5;24(1):487.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 31, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): March 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 6, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 25, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): March 26, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 26, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 25, 2020
• Last Verified: March 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Levosimendan; Refractory cardiogenic shock; VA-ECMO (Veno-Arterial ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation)
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Ischemia; Pathologic Processes; Necrosis; Myocardial Ischemia; Heart Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Myocardial Infarction; Infarction; Shock; Shock, Cardiogenic
• Other Study ID Numbers: WEANECMO_2020

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No