Evaluation of Integrated Versus Parallel Connection for Renal Replacement Therapy in ECMO Patients (EPIC-ECMO)

Evaluation of Integrated Versus Parallel Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy Connection in ECMO Patients: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is an extra-corporeal assistance used in case of respiratory or circulatory failure. In case of circulatory failure, ECMO is in the veno-arterial configuration (VA-ECMO). VA-ECMO patients are at high risk of developing acute kidney injury (AKI) and renal replacement therapy (RRT) may be needed in 50% of ECMO patients. Although the administration of RRT in ECMO patients has major implications, no specific recommendations are currently available. The 2020 Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) international conference identified the evaluation of RRT in these ECMO patients as a research priority.

In 2023, the two main configurations used to administer RRT in ECMO patients are an independent delivery on a separate vascular access (parallel connection) or an integration of the RRT machine directly into the ECMO circuit (integrated connection). The integrated connection may reduce infectious and bleeding complications associated with the use of a second vascular access. However, it can expose the hemofilter and circuit to excessive positive pressures that can trigger pressure alarms in the RRT machine and expose the patient to a theoretical risk of air embolism or hemolysis. Furthermore, there is currently no robust data comparing the hemofilter lifespan with the parallel or with the integrated connection, although the filter lifespan is a crucial parameter to assess the quality of the RRT delivery in the ICU. The investigators recently performed a survey of practices in this context of ECMO patients. The investigators found that both strategies (parallel and integrated connection) are widely used and can be seen as common patient care.

The hypothesis tested in this study is the following: when RRT is integrated to the ECMO circuit, the hemofilter lifespan is non inferior to the one when RRT is delivered on a separate vascular access. Only VA-ECMO patients will be enrolled in this trial.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Acute Kidney Injury; Renal Replacement Therapy; Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Parallel connection; Procedure: Integrated connection

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 158
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Frank BIDAR, MD; Phone Number: (33) 472 116 942; Email: frank.bidar@chu-lyon.fr
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Thomas RIMMELE, Professor MD; Phone Number: (33) 472 111 327; Email: thomas.rimmele@chu-lyon.fr

Study Locations

• France
  • Bordeaux, France
    • Recruiting
    • CHU de Bordeaux, GH Sud, Service d'anesthésie-réanimation cardiovasculaire, Hôpital cardiologique
    • Contact: Alexandre OUATTARA, Professor MD; Phone Number: (33) 557 656 866; Email: alexandre.ouattara@chu-bordeaux.fr
  • Clermont-Ferrand, France
    • Recruiting
    • CHU de Clermont Ferrand, Pôle de médecine péri-opératoire/Chirurgie cardiaque, Hôpital Gabriel Montpied
    • Contact: Vedat ELJEZI, Professor MD; Phone Number: (33) 473 751 590; Email: veljezi@chu-clermontferrand.fr
  • Dijon, France, 21079
    • Recruiting
    • Centre Hospitalo Universitaire de Dijon, Unité Réanimation Cardio-Vasculaire,
    • Contact: Pierre-Grégoire GUINOT, Professor MD; Phone Number: +33 03.80.29.56.03; Email: pierregregoire.guinot@chu-dijon.fr
  • Grenoble, France
    • Recruiting
    • CHU de Grenoble, Service de réanimation cardiovasculaire et thoracique, Pôle anesthésie réanimation, Hôpital Nord
    • Contact: Géraldine DESSERTAINE, MD; Phone Number: (33) 476 767 588; Email: Gdessertaine@chu-grenoble.fr
  • Lille, France, 59037
    • Not yet recruiting
    • Centre Hospitalo Universitaire de Lille, Institut Coeur Poumon
    • Contact: Mouhamed Djahoum MOUSSA, MD; Phone Number: +33 03 20 44 59 62; Email: mouhamed.MOUSSA@chu-lille.fr
  • Lyon, France
    • Recruiting
    • Hospices Civils de Lyon, Service d'Anesthésie-Réanimation cardiovasculaire, Hôpital Louis Pradel
    • Contact: Jean-Luc FELLAHI, Professor MD; Phone Number: (33) 472 118 933; Email: Jean-luc.fellahi@chu-lyon.fr
  • Montpellier, France
    • Recruiting
    • CHU de Montpellier, Département d'anesthésie-réanimation, Pôle Cœur-poumons, Hôpital Arnaud de Villeneuve
    • Contact: Philippe GAUDARD, MD; Phone Number: (33) 467 335 958; Email: p-gaudard@chu-montpellier.fr
  • Paris, France
    • Recruiting
    • APHP, Institut de Cardiologie, Service d'anesthésie-réanimation cardiovasculaire, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière
    • Contact: Adrien BOUGLE, MD; Phone Number: (33) 142 162 259; Email: Adrien.bougle@aphp.fr
  • Paris, France
    • Recruiting
    • APHP, Institut de cardiologie, Service de Médecine Intensive Réanimation, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière
    • Contact: Charles-Edouard LUYT, Professor MD; Phone Number: (33) 142 163 824; Email: Charles-edouard.luyt@aphp.fr
  • Saint-Etienne, France
    • Recruiting
    • CHU de Saint Etienne, Hôpital Bellevue, Service de Réanimation polyvalente et soins intensifs post-opératoires
    • Contact: Jérôme MOREL, Professor MD; Phone Number: (33) 477 828 329; Email: Jerome.morel@chu-st-etienne.fr
  • Toulouse, France, 31059
    • Not yet recruiting
    • Centre Hospitalo Universitaire de Toulouse, Hôpital Rangueil - Réanimation polyvalente
    • Contact: Fanny VARDON, MD; Phone Number: +33 05 61 32 23 11; Email: vardon.f@chu-toulouse.fr
  • Toulouse, France, 31059
    • Not yet recruiting
    • Centre Hospitalo Universitaire de Toulouse, Unité de Chirurgie Cardiaque
    • Contact: François LABASTE, MD; Phone Number: +33 05 61 32 28 22; Email: labaste.f@chu-toulouse.fr

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients aged above 18 years
• Patient on VA-ECMO who requires the initiation of continuous RRT during VA-ECMO treatment
• Patient with a foreseeable length of stay in intensive care greater than 24 hours

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient who does not have a vascular capital allowing for the insertion of a new dialysis catheter to administer RRT and therefore cannot be randomized to the parallel connection group
• High pressures monitored on ECMO not allowing direct RRT catherter on ECMO
• Pregnant, parturient, or breastfeeding women
• Patient deprived of liberty by a judicial or administrative decision
• Patient under psychiatric care
• Patient subject to a legal protection measure (guardianship, curators)
• Patient not affiliated to a social security system
• Patient participating in another interventional research study in the field of extra purification renal

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: VA-ECMO patients with parallel connection; Patients undergoing VA ECMO with indication for concomitant RRT, assigned to parallel connection group.	Procedure: Parallel connection; The RRT machine is connected on a separate vascular access (dialysis catheter).
Active Comparator: VA-ECMO patients with integrated connection; Patients undergoing VA ECMO with indication for concomitant RRT, assigned to integrated connection group.	Procedure: Integrated connection; A connection of the RRT machine with the input and output lines directly on the ECMO circuit.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Hemofilter change rate	To assess whether integrated RRT connection in VA-ECMO patients results in a non-inferior hemofilter change rate compared to the parallel connection. The hemofilter change rate is defined as the number of hemofilter replacements observed during the period between the start and the end of the RRT session, normalized by the duration of the session.	Duration of RRT associated with VA-ECMO up to 60 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Proportion of early hemofilter thromboses	To assess if the integrated RRT connection is associated with a lower proportion of early hemofilter thromboses compared to the parallel connection: number of early hemofilter thromboses normalized by the number of hemofilters used. "Early" is defined as < 24 hours of use.	Duration of RRT associated with VA-ECMO up to 60 days
Proportion of hemofilter thromboses	To assess if the integrated RRT connection is associated with a lower proportion of hemofilter thromboses compared to the parallel connection: number of hemofilter thromboses normalized by the number of hemofilters used.	Duration of RRT associated with VA-ECMO up to 60 days
Down-time	To compare the integrated RRT connection to the parallel connection in terms of duration of non-purification periods in relation to the total duration RRT.	Duration of RRT associated with VA-ECMO up to 60 days
Proportion of ECMO circuit thromboses	To assess whether the integrated RRT connection does not expose the ECMO circuit to a higher probability of thrombosis The occurrence of thrombosis on the ECMO circuit is defined as a thrombus on any part of the ECMO circuit requiring a change in the circuit or oxygenator, or on the oxygenator resulting in a deleterious effect on oxygenation, or resulting in significant fibrinolysis	Duration of RRT associated with VA-ECMO up to 60 days
Death	30-day mortality	At 30 days
Renal function according to KDIGO stage	To assess renal function at hospital discharge or at day 60 after admission.	At hospital discharge up to 60 days after admission
Number of infectious complications	To assess whether the integrated RRT connection reduces the number of infectious complications associated with the use of an additional vascular access. The infection will be defined as catheter-related in case of documented bacteraemia with positive blood cultures with differential time to positivity or positive catheter culture with the same microorganism.	Duration of RRT associated with VA-ECMO up to 60 days
Number of bleeding complications	To assess whether the integrated RRT connection reduces bleeding complications associated with the use of an additional vascular access. The occurrence of a bleeding syndrome is defined as a bleeding requiring transfusion with collection of the number of red blood cells transfused or requiring an invasive procedure (surgery, embolization), and defined or not as related to dialysis catheter placement or RRT connection to VA-ECMO.	Duration of RRT associated with VA-ECMO up to 60 days
Number of hemolysis	To assess whether the integrated RRT connection does not expose to a higher probability of hemolysis. The occurrence of intravascular hemolysis is defined as the occurrence of significant hemolytic anemia.	Duration of RRT associated with VA-ECMO up to 60 days
Number of air embolism	To assess whether the integrated RRT connection does not expose the patient to a higher probability of air embolism. The occurrence of an air embolism is defined as an embolic event with clinical impact of any kind, This occurence is related or not to the use of the dialysis catheter or the connection of the RRT to the VA-ECMO circuit.	Duration of RRT associated with VA-ECMO up to 60 days
Number of days spent in intensive care unit	To assess whether the integrated RRT connection modifies the intensive care unit length of stay	Duration of RRT associated with VA-ECMO up to 60 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hospices Civils de Lyon
• Investigators: Study Chair: Frank BIDAR, MD, Hospices Civils de Lyon

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 7, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 7, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 7, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 31, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 7, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): September 14, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 20, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 16, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: RRT; VA-ECMO; hemofilter; parallel; integrated; connection
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Urogenital Diseases; Male Urogenital Diseases; Kidney Diseases; Urologic Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications; Renal Insufficiency; Acute Kidney Injury
• Other Study ID Numbers: 69HCL22_0894

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No