Quantification of recirculation as an adjuvant to transthoracic echocardiography for optimization of dual-lumen extracorporeal life support.

Körver, Erik P J; Ganushchak, Yuri M; Simons, Antoine P; Donker, Dirk W; Maessen, Jos G; Weerwind, Patrick W · Intensive Care Med · 2012

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Abstract

Proper cannula positioning in single site veno-venous extracorporeal life support (vv-ELS) is cumbersome and necessitates image guidance to obtain a safe and stable position within the heart and the caval veins. Importantly, image-guided cannula positioning alone is not sufficient, as possible recirculation cannot be quantified. We present an ultrasound dilution technique allowing quantification of recirculation for optimizing vv-ELS. We suggest quantification of recirculation in addition to image guidance to provide optimal vv-ELS.

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