Clinical Research Directory

Use of Bivalirudin for Anticoagulation in Patients With Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bivalirudin in anticoagulation therapy in patients with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) compared with unfractionated heparin.

Study on the Efficacy and Timing of ECMO Therapy in Children With Refractory Septic Shock

Severe sepsis and septic shock remain the leading causes of child mortality worldwide. Sepsis is a complex process that ultimately leads to circulation disorders, organ perfusion abnormalities, capillary leakage, tissue hypoxia, and organ failure. The difficulty of clinical treatment is microcirculation and mitochondrial dysfunction in septic shock. Once shock enters the stage of microcirculation failure, conventional treatment is ineffective. ECMO can effectively support the circulatory system and provide good oxygen delivery, but there are many controversies in clinical treatment. 1) whether ECMO can effectively improve the clinical prognosis of children with septic shock; 2) appropriate timing for ECMO intervention; 3) which key clinical factors affect the effect of ECMO treatment. This study intends to adopt a multi-center, prospective, non-randomized controlled trial design, and the main research hypothesis is whether ECMO treatment can improve the success of discharge survival of children with septic shock.

The ECMO-Free Trial

Decannulation from venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) at the earliest and safest time would be expected to improve outcomes and reduce cost. Daily assessments for readiness to liberate from therapies have demonstrated success in other realms of critical care. A recent single-center study demonstrated that a protocolized daily assessment of readiness for liberation from VV-ECMO was feasible and did not raise any major safety concerns, but the effect of this protocolized daily assessment on clinical outcomes remains unclear. Further, the manner in which ECMO is provided, weaned, and discontinued varies significantly between centers, raising persistent concerns regarding widespread adoption of protocolized daily assessment of readiness for liberation from VV-ECMO. Data from large a randomized controlled trial is needed to compare the effects of a protocolized daily assessment of readiness for liberation from VV-ECMO versus usual care on duration of ECMO support and other clinical outcomes.

Platform of Randomized Adaptive Clinical Trials in Critical Illness

PRACTICAL is a randomized multifactorial adaptive platform trial for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF). This platform trial will evaluate novel interventions for patients with AHRF across a range of severity states (i.e., not intubated, intubated with lower or higher respiratory system elastance, requiring extracorporeal life support) and across a range of investigational phases (i.e., preliminary mechanistic trials, full-scale clinical trials). AHRF is a common and life-threatening clinical syndrome affecting millions globally every year. Patients with AHRF are at high risk of death and long-term morbidity. Patients who require invasive mechanical ventilation are at risk of ventilator-induced lung injury and ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction. New treatments and treatment strategies are needed to improve outcomes for these very ill patients. Utilizing advances in Bayesian adaptive trial design, the platform will facilitate efficient yet rigorous testing of new treatments for AHRF, with a particular focus on mechanical ventilation strategies and extracorporeal life support techniques as well as pharmacological agents and new medical devices. The platform is designed to enable evaluation of novel interventions at a variety of stages of investigation, including pilot and feasibility trials, trials focused on mechanistic surrogate endpoints for preliminary clinical evaluation, and full-scale clinical trials assessing the impact of interventions on patient-centered outcomes. Interventions will be evaluated within therapeutic domains. A domain is defined as a set of interventions that are intended to act on specific mechanisms of injury using different variations of a common therapeutic strategy. Domains are intended to function independently of each other, allowing independent evaluation of multiple therapies within the same patient. Once feasibility is established, Bayesian adaptive statistical modelling will be used to evaluate treatment efficacy at regular interim adaptive analyses of the pre-specified outcomes for each intervention in each domain. These adaptive analyses will compute the posterior probabilities of superiority, futility, inferiority, or equivalence for pre-specified comparisons within domains. Each of these potential conclusions will be pre-defined prior to commencing the intervention trial. Decisions about trial results (e.g., concluding superiority or equivalence) will be based on pre-specified threshold values for posterior probability. The primary outcome of interest, the definitions for superiority, futility, etc. (i.e., the magnitude of treatment effect) and the threshold values of posterior probability required to reach conclusions for superiority, futility etc., will vary from intervention to intervention depending on the phase of investigation and the nature of the intervention being evaluated. All of these parameters will be pre-specified as part of the statistical design for each intervention trial. In general, domains will be designed to evaluate treatment effect within four discrete clinical states: non-intubated patients, intubated patients with low respiratory system elastance (\<2.5 cm H2O/(mL/kg)), intubated patients with high respiratory system elastance (≥2.5 cm H2O/(mL/kg)), and patients requiring extracorporeal life support. Where appropriate, the model will specify dynamic borrowing between states to maximize statistical information available for trial conclusions. In this perpetual trial design, different interventions may be added or dropped over time. Where possible, the platform will be embedded within existing data collection repositories to enable greater efficiency in outcome ascertainment. Standardized systems for acquiring both physiological and biological measurements are embedded in the platform, to be acquired at sites with appropriate training, expertise, and facilities to collect those measurements.

Anticoagulation-free VV ECMO for Acute Respiratory Failure

Currently international experts recommend therapeutic anticoagulation for veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO). Reports and case series suggest that the absence of therapeutic anticoagulation is safe for VV-ECMO. No randomized control trials have assessed this. The aim of this pilot study is to assess safety and feasibility of an "anticoagulation-free strategy" for veno-venous ECMO (VV-ECMO) in Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Transplantation of Autologously Derived Mitochondria Following Ischemia

The investigators propose a robust therapeutic intervention to ameliorate myocardial ischemia/ reperfusion injury and significantly decrease morbidity and mortality in patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), by direct injection of autogeneic mitochondria into the ischemic myocardium.

Continuous Compartment Pressure Monitoring for Compartment Syndrome in VA-ECMO Patients

Acute compartment syndrome (ACS) is a surgical emergency that can develop in patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). ACS is a type of limb ischemia, which means that the limb, such as the arm or leg, loses blood flow. Patients on ECMO can develop this condition for many reasons, but most commonly from the ECMO procedure itself. This most commonly involves the leg. Key symptoms of ACS include severe pain, loss of pulses, loss of feeling, and inability to move the limb. However, because patients on ECMO are often sedated, ACS is difficult to diagnose as patients can not report symptoms. As a result, the only available tool for diagnosing ACS may be measurement of pressures in the limb. This is normally done with a needle-device, which is inserted into the leg for a single measurement. However, a recently developed device, called the MY01 Continuous Compartment Pressure Monitor, allows for continuous pressure readings instead of a single measurement. Multiple measurements may allow for much greater accuracy in diagnosing ACS, which may result in faster time to surgery and potentially save more limbs than single measurements. This device may also be less invasive than an older method of continuous pressure measuring, which uses a needle and tubing that is 14-gauge in size. Therefore, this study aims to compare 3 different types of methods for diagnosing ACS in patients on ECMO, which are 1) Standard of Care, 2) Standard of Care and MY01, and 3)Standard of Care and 14-gauge slit catheter.

Evaluating the Safety and Performance of the MiniLung Petite Kit in Neonatal and Pediatric Patients With Acute Respiratory and Cardiac Failure

This prospective observational study will evaluate the safety and performance of the MiniLung petite kit in neonatal and pediatric patients with acute respiratory and cardiac failure. The main question it aims to answer is (study hypotheses): Veno-venous (VV) and veno-arterial (VA) Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) using the MiniLung petite kit is safe and improves gas exchange (oxygenation and CO2 removal) and hemodynamic stabilization in neonatal and pediatric patients with severe acute respiratory and/or cardiopulmonary failure within 24 hours compared to the treatment before VV or VA ECMO initiation and maintain a life-sustaining condition.

Use of Nafamostat Mesilate for Anticoagulation in Patients With ECMO

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of nafamostat mesilate compared with unfractionated heparin for anticoagulation in patients with ECMO after cardiac surgery.

Safety and Performance of the Novalung Ultimate Kit and Xenios 2.0 During Stationary Use in Hospital and Ground-based Transport of Patients on Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS)

This prospective observational study will evaluate the safety and performance of the Novalung ultimate kit in combination with the Xenios 2.0 and the MultiSupport Ground during stationary use in hospital and ground-based transport of patients treated on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The primary objective is to assess whether the use of the medical devices improves and maintains the gas exchange (blood oxygenation) in these patients. Medical Devices will be used according to their intended purpose and local standards/ requirements.

ECMO ABI Detection With Hyperfine

The primary objective is to characterize the prevalence and type of ABI following cannulation for pediatric patients who require ECMO support. The secondary objective is to describe the time course and rates of ABI using ultralow-field bedside MRI relative to both duration of ECMO support and clinical imaging obtained in routine care of pediatric ECMO patients.

DIC Markers and Thrombin Generation Parameters in Patients on ECMO Support: a Pilot Study

To study the correlation between novel DIC markers and thrombin generation parameters with thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications of patients on ECMO support.

"Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on Venovenous extracorporeaL Membrane Oxygenation for Acute respIratory Distress syndrOme"

The CALMDOWN trial is a prospective, open-label, multicenter, comparative, controlled trial randomizing patients who received near apneic ventilation vs usual care on ECMO (ultra-protective lung ventilation). The study goal is to investigate the benefit of early apneic ventilation in the most severe forms of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) rescued by ECMO. Indeed, our hypothesis is that that early (near) apneic ventilation on venovenous ECMO for severe ARDS can enhance ventilator injury prevention and therefore reduce ECMO duration and mortality at Day 60.

EUROSETS ECMO Study in Clinical Extracorporeal Life Support Applications

This is a prospective single-center study designed for evaluation of safety and performance of the Conformitè Europëenne (CE)-marked EUROSETS ECMOLIFE SYSTEM, composed by: ECMOLIFE console, ECMO TUBING SET, ECMO OXYGENATOR and ECMOLIFE CENTRIFUGAL PUMP, HEATER COOLER (called ECMOLIFE HC) in all clinical ECLS applications (e.g. post-cardiotomy ECLS as well as application for cardiogenic shock after myocardial infarction or resulting from other etiologies, as well as ECLS application in patients under cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR) and protected PCI) in 30 consecutive patients. All demographic and perioperative variables (ECMOLIFE SYSTEM -related and unrelated ECLS complications, performances of the ECMOLIFE SYSTEM) will be analyzed. Surgical techniques will be recorded. Follow-up information on survival and any adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events will be gathered routinely by outpatient clinic and telephone calls until 30 days after ECLS initiation or hospital discharge.

RECOMMEND Platform Trial

The goal of this platform trial is to determine the efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of various interventions in patients with acute cardiorespiratory failure requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) The main question the platform trial aims to address is to determine the effect of a range of interventions on survival, organ support and resource utilisation to day 28 for hospitalised patients receiving ECMO. Researchers will compare various interventions within multiple platform trial domains to see if the interventions have effects on survival, organ support and resource utilisation for the patient cohort. Participants will be enrolled in accordance with the platform trial's domain structure to answer the research questions.

Red Blood Cell Transfusion in ECMO - A Feasibility Trial

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is an invasive and resource intense treatment used to support critically ill patients who have suffered severe cardiac arrest, cardiac failure or respiratory failure (including severe cases of COVID-19). ECMO acts as a mechanical circulatory support temporarily replacing the function of the heart or lungs by oxygenating blood and removing carbon dioxide, allowing time for these organs to recover. Many critically ill patients, including those on ECMO, have an increased risk of bleeding and reduced production/increased destruction of red blood cells (RBCs). This can lead to anaemia (haemoglobin levels \<120 g/l), a condition where the body lacks enough healthy RBCs to carry enough oxygen to the body's tissues. Therefore, patients on ECMO frequently require RBC transfusion, with clinicians having to decide if administering an RBC transfusion (with its associated risks) is higher than tolerating complications of anaemia. ROSETTA is a feasibility study that aims to determine the safety and feasibility of randomizing patients on ECMO to a restrictive RBC transfusion strategy (maintain Hb concentration above 70g/L) or to a more liberal transfusion strategy (maintain Hb concentration above 90g/L). Feasibility is defined as the ability to achieve a mean separation of at least 10g/L between the average lowest daily haemoglobin values in the two study groups.

Cangrelor on Top of anticoagUlation in Patients With myocaRdial Infarction-related Cardiogenic Shock/Cardiac Arrest receiVIng VA-ECMO

The SURVIVE trial aims to test whether using an anti-thrombotic regimen involving cangrelor can reduce bleeding risk while maintaining effective antithrombotic effects in patients on VA-ECMO due to cardiogenic shock (CS)/ cardiac arrest (CA) who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The investigators plan to achieve this by starting cangrelor on top of systemic anticoagulation with bivalirudin at a low dose, regularly monitoring platelet function, and adjusting the dose based on the results of platelet function assay (Multiplate®) to guarantee effective platelet P2Y12 pathway inhibition to achieve optimal platelet inhibition. Platelet function assays will be performed at various time points throughout the treatment timeframe. Cangrelor will then be stopped at the end of VA-ECMO support, and patients will be transitioned to oral P2Y12- inhibitors as per clinical guidelines.

ECMO LEft Ventricle UNloading Strategy

The present study is an International multicentric prospective observational cohort study. This will be an international research campaign to prospectively collect and analyze clinical data of all VA ECLS patients admitted to participating ICUs with a focus on LV venting modalities. The aims of the study are: * To investigate the meaning of LV overload during veno-arterial (VA) extracorporeal life support; * To extensively describe the left ventricular (LV) unloading strategy during VA extracorporeal life support in a large prospective international cohort. * To compare different strategies to unload the left ventricular in terms of efficacy and outcomes;

Early Rehabilitation in Patients on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Critically ill patients who require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are the sickest in the hospital. More patients are surviving but survivors have compromised functional recovery for months or years. This registry-embedded randomised trial aims to determine if early rehabilitation commenced within 72 hours of ECMO is feasible and improves muscle strength and functional status in patients compared to standard practice in a randomised controlled trial of 100 ICU patients. The effect of the intervention on mortality, health status, and function at 180 days will be evaluated, as well as cost-effectiveness. ECMO-Rehab trial is a registry embedded trial and will be utilising EXCEL data.

Monitoring of Cerebral Blood Flow in Patients on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is a supportive therapy, indicated in case of severe, possibly reversible pulmonary failure, refractory to conventional therapies. Despite advances, morbidity and mortality remain high. Severe neurological complications can occur during ECMO, but their exact etiology is not well understood. It is hypothesized that fast correction of severe hypercapnia, a common indication for venovenous ECMO, may be detrimental for the brain. The supposed mechanism is that fast correction of hypercapnia may result in massive cerebral vasoconstriction and impaired cerebral blood flow (CBF). In this prospective, observational study the aim is to quantify change in CBF during routine initial correction of severe hypercapnia during VV-ECMO. Furthermore, the investigators will record any other hemodynamic changes during VV-ECMO. The hypothesis is that a larger decline in PaCO2 will result in a larger decline of CBF.

BivaLirudin versUS Heparin in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

The goal of this open label randomised clinical trial is to compare Bivalirudin versus Heparin for anticoagulation in patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. The main question it aims to answer are include the ability to maintain anticoagulation within defined therapeutic range, bleeding and thrombotic complications and a comparison of the total cost of anticoagulation care. Participants will be randomised to either anticoagulation with Bivalirudin or anticoagulation with Unfractionated Heparin.

Nosocomial Infections in ECMO Patients

Nosocomial Infections (NI) are a common and dreadful complication for patients suffering from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) treated with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). Unfortunately, no study has thoroughly evaluated NI in this fragile patient cohort. Newly developed antibiotics may help manage such infections, but their pharmacokinetics (PK) during ECMO has not been evaluated. Objectives of this prospective observational multicenter pharmacological no-profit study are: 1) describe incidence, microbial etiology, and resistance patterns, and assess risk factors for NIs in a large prospective cohort of ARDS patients undergoing ECMO. 2) provide a PK analysis of ceftazidime/avibactam, meropenem/vaborbactam, ceftolozane/tazobactam, and cefiderocol in adult patients undergoing ECMO Incidence, microbial etiology, and antibiotic resistance patterns of confirmed NIs will be prospectively collected and analyzed. In the subgroup of patients treated with ceftazidime/avibactam, meropenem/vaborbactam, ceftolozane/tazobactam, or cefiderocol as per clinical practice, blood and bronchoalveolar concentration of the antibiotic will be measured, and PK modeling carried out.

The Usefulness of Myocardial Work IndeX in ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Patients

Investigation of the potential prognostic role of non-invasive myocardial work in patients receiving veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy.

Pharmacokinetics and Modelling of Beta-Lactam in ECMO-VA Patients

The use of antibiotic therapy is common in intensive care units and primarily involves beta-lactams. Its optimal implementation is made difficult by the pharmacokinetic changes inherent in critically ill patients. Despite the current recommendations from the French Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care (SFAR) and the French Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (SFPT), there are no recommendations on prescription modalities for patients under veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). The use of antibiotic therapy is common in VA-ECMO patients and their pharmacokinetic variability factors are then exacerbated. We aim to conduct a prospective, multicenter, interventional study designed to identify predictive factors for failure to achieve therapeutic target circulating concentrations of beta-lactams in patients under VA-ECMO treated with one of the studied beta-lactams