Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been shown to be frequently associated with haemodynamic instability requiring the use of vasopressors. To date, there is still some uncertainty in the use of veno-venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (VV-ECMO) in haemodynamically unstable ARDS patients.

We therefore assessed whether patients receiving pre ECMO vasopressors had a worse prognosis and, furthermore, we reviewed the factors associated with the use of pre ECMO vasopressors in 92 consecutive patients with refractory ARDS treated with VV-ECMO. All patients were submitted to an echocardiogram before implantation.

In our series, 55 patients (59.7%) were given a vasopressor. Septic shock is the main cause of vasopressor requirement (45.5%). When compared with patients without vasopressors, the subgroup under vasopressors showed a significantly higher sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score (p=0.040), a lower pH (p=0.013), lower pO2 values (p=0.030) and higher lactate levels (p=0.024). A higher incidence of right ventricular (RV) dysfunction and of biventricular dysfunction were observed in patients under vasopressors (p=0.018 and p=0.036, respectively). The intensive care unit (ICU) mortality rate was 43.4% (40/92) with no difference between the two subgroups.

In refractory ARDS requiring VV-ECMO, infusion of vasopressors is needed in a high proportion of patients, who did not exhibit a worse prognosis when compared to haemodynamically stable patients. Pre ECMO echocardiography helps in characterising these patients since they showed a higher incidence of RV (and biventricular) dysfunction. According to our data, in ARDS patients refractory to conventional treatment, haemodynamic instability should not be considered a contraindication to VV-ECMO support.