Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients with severe ARDS with safe or unsafe liberation from VV-ECMO.
| All Patients | Safe Liberation | Unsafe Liberation | p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | n = 84 | n = 70 | n = 14 | |
| Age, y | 51 (39–60) | 51 (36–60) | 51 (45–53) | 0.89 |
| Male sex | 50 (60%) | 39 (56%) | 11 (79%) | 0.14 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 51.1 (29.3–78.9) | 58.8 (29.6–79.0) | 31.5 (26.8–68.9) | 0.31 |
| Reason for ECMO | ||||
| ARDS due to COVID-19 pneumonia | 30 (36%) | 23 (33%) | 7 (50%) | 0.36 |
| ARDS due to another cause of pneumonia | 25 (30.5%) | 22 (31%) | 3 (21.5%) | 0.54 |
| ARDS post lung transplant | 8 (9.5%) | 8 (11%) | 0 (0%) | 0.34 |
| Postoperative respiratory failure | 5 (6%) | 4 (6%) | 1 (7%) | 0.85 |
| Other 1 | 16 (19%) | 13 (19%) | 3 (21.5%) | 0.81 |
| VV-ECMO duration, d | 11 (5–20) | 10 (4–19) | 16 (13–19) | 0.04 * |
| All Patients | Safe Liberation | Unsafe Liberation | p-Value | |
| Characteristic | n = 40 | n = 31 | n = 9 | |
| SOFA score during SGOT 3 | 6 (3–7) | 5 (3–7) | 7 (6–9) | 0.18 |
The results are expressed as the median (from the first quartile to the third quartile) or number (%). BMI: body mass index; VV-ECMO: veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; SOFA: sequential organ failure assessment. Significant results are marked with an *. 1 Other reasons include cardiotomy, interstitial lung disease, bronchopleural fistula, pulmonary edema, status asthmaticus, tracheal rupture, ketoacidosis, and pulmonary arteriovenous malformation. 3 Due to missing values at MGH, the SOFA score calculation was only possible for patients treated at the University Hospital Aachen.