In this prospective single-center registry we evaluated the use of cytokine adsorption in critically ill patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. Sepsis but also in non-infectious conditions such as post-cardiac arrest syndrome are associated with severe systemic inflammation. Cytokine adsorption is an emerging therapy applied in these critically ill patients.
We analyzed data from six patients undergoing veno-venous (vv) or veno-arterial (va) ECMO therapy for sepsis, cardiac shock or after resuscitation. In this report, we describe a feasible and easy to handle way to directly incorporate the adsorber into the ECMO circuit during continuous ECMO support. Whether cytokine removal improves clinical outcome in ECMO-treated patients needs to be investigated in randomized controlled trials.