Background:

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the impact of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA–ECMO) integrated hemoadsorption on the reversal of multiorgan and microcirculatory dysfunction, and early mortality of refractory cardiogenic shock patients.

Methods:

Propensity score–matched cohort study of 29 pairs of patients. Subjects received either VA–ECMO supplemented with hemoadsorption or standard VA–ECMO management.

Results:

There was a lower mean sequential organ failure assessment score (p = 0.04), lactate concentration (p = 0.015), P_(v–a)CO₂ gap (p < 0.001), vasoactive inotropic score (p = 0.007), and reduced delta C–reactive protein level (p = 0.005) in the hemoadsorption compared to control groups after 72 h. In–hospital mortality was similar to the predictions in the control group (62.1%) and was much lower than the predicted value in the hemoadsorption group (44.8%). There were less ECMO-associated bleeding complications in the hemoadsorption group compared to controls (p = 0.049). Overall, 90-day survival was better in the hemoadsorption group than in controls without statistical significance.

Conclusion:

VA–ECMO integrated hemoadsorption treatment was associated with accelerated recovery of multiorgan and microcirculatory dysfunction, mitigated inflammatory response, less bleeding complications, and lower risk for early mortality in comparison with controls.