TY - RPRT A1 - Steiger, Tamara A1 - Foltan, Maik A1 - Philipp, Alois A1 - Müller, Thomas A1 - Gruber, Michael Andreas A1 - Bredthauer, Andre A1 - Krenkel, Lars A1 - Birkenmaier, Clemens A1 - Lehle, Karla T1 - Accumulations of von Willebrand factor within ECMO oxygenators: Potential indicator of coagulation abnormalities in critically ill patients? N2 - Clot formation within membrane oxygenators (MOs) remains a critical problem during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The composition of the clots—in particular, the presence of von Willebrand factor (vWF)—may be an indicator for prevalent nonphysiological flow conditions, foreign body reactions, or coagulation abnormalities in critically ill patients. Mats of interwoven gas exchange fibers from randomly collected MOs (PLS, Maquet, Rastatt, Germany) of 21 patients were stained with antibodies (anti‐vWF and anti‐P‐selectin) and counterstained with 4′,6‐diamidino‐2‐phenylindole. The extent of vWF‐loading was correlated with patient and technical data. While 12 MOs showed low vWF‐loadings, 9 MOs showed high vWF‐loading with highest accumulations close to crossing points of adjacent gas fibers. The presence and the extent of vWF‐fibers/“cobwebs,” leukocytes, platelet–leukocyte aggregates (PLAs), and P‐selectin‐positive platelet aggregates were independent of the extent of vWF‐loading. However, the highly loaded MOs were obtained from patients with a significantly elevated SOFA score, severe thrombocytopenia, and persistent liver dysfunction. The coagulation abnormalities of these critically ill patients may cause an accumulation of the highly thrombogenic and elongated high‐molecular‐weight vWF multimers in the plasma which will be trapped in the MOs during the ECMO therapy. Y1 - 2019 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Birkenmaier, Clemens A1 - Dornia, Christian A1 - Lehle, Karla A1 - Müller, Thomas A1 - Gruber, Michael Andreas A1 - Philipp, Alois A1 - Krenkel, Lars T1 - Analysis of Thrombotic Deposits in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenators by High-resolution Microcomputed Tomography: A Feasibility Study JF - ASAIO Journal / American Society for Artificial Internal Organs N2 - Coagulative disorders, especially clotting during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, are frequent complications. Direct visualization and analysis of deposits in membrane oxygenators using computed tomography (CT) may provide an insight into the underlying mechanisms causing thrombotic events. However, the already established multidetector CT1 (MDCT) method shows major limitations. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of applying industrial micro-CT (μCT) to circumvent these restrictions. Three clinically used membrane oxygenators were investigated applying both MDCT and μCT. The scans were analyzed in terms of clot volume and local clot distribution. As validation, the clot volume was also determined from the fluid volume, which could be filled into the respective used oxygenator compared to a new device. In addition, cross-sectional CT images were compared with crosscut oxygenators. Based on the μCT findings, a morphological measure (sphericity) for assessing clot structures in membrane oxygenators is introduced. Furthermore, by comparing MDCT and μCT results, an augmentation of the MDCT method is proposed, which allows for improved clot volume determination in a clinical setting. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1097/MAT.0000000000001089 SN - 1538-943X VL - 66 IS - 8 SP - 922 EP - 928 PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Birkenmaier, Clemens A1 - Steiger, Tamara A1 - Philipp, Alois A1 - Lehle, Karla A1 - Krenkel, Lars T1 - Flow-induced accumulations of von Willebrand factor inside oxygenators during extracorporeal life support therapy T2 - Proceedings of 12th International Conference BIOMDLORE 2018, June 28–30, 2018, Białystok, Poland N2 - BACKGROUND: Shear-induced conformational changes of von Willebrand factor (vWF) may be responsible for coagulation disorder and clot formation inside membrane oxygenators (MOs) during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to identify vWF structures inside clinically used MOs and employ computational fluid dynamics to verify the corresponding flow conditions. METHODS: Samples from gas exchange membranes (GEM) from MOs were analysed for accumulations of vWF and P-selectin-positive platelets using immunofluorescence techniques. Streamlines and shear rates of the flow around GEMs were computed using a laminar steady Reynolds-Averaged-Navier-Stokes approach. RESULTS: Most samples were colonized with equally distributed leukocytes, integrated in thin cobweb-like vWF-structures. Only 25 % of the samples showed extended accumulations of vWF. Computed streamlines showed considerable cross flow between interconnected neighbouring channels. Stagnation points were non-symmetric and contact faces were washed around closely. The occurring maximum shear rates ranged from 2,500 to 3,000 1/s. CONCLUSIONS: If pronounced vWF structures are present, shape and extent match the flow computations well. Computed shear rates bear a critical degree of uncertainty due to the improper viscosity model. If flow conditions inside the MO were sufficient to affect vWF, a more consistent distribution of vWF across the samples should be present. KW - Blood Viscosity KW - Shear Rate Induced Coagulation KW - Hemodynamics KW - Membrane Oxygenator KW - von Willebrand factor Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-1-5386-2396-1 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/BIOMDLORE.2018.8467205 PB - IEEE CY - Piscataway, NJ ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Steiger, Tamara A1 - Foltan, Maik A1 - Philipp, Alois A1 - Mueller, Thomas A1 - Gruber, Michael Andreas A1 - Bredthauer, Andre A1 - Krenkel, Lars A1 - Birkenmaier, Clemens A1 - Lehle, Karla T1 - Accumulations of von Willebrand factor within ECMO oxygenators: Potential indicator of coagulation abnormalities in critically ill patients? JF - Artificial Organs N2 - Clot formation within membrane oxygenators (MOs) remains a critical problem during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The composition of the clots-in particular, the presence of von Willebrand factor (vWF)-may be an indicator for prevalent nonphysiological flow conditions, foreign body reactions, or coagulation abnormalities in critically ill patients. Mats of interwoven gas exchange fibers from randomly collected MOs (PLS, Maquet, Rastatt, Germany) of 21 patients were stained with antibodies (anti-vWF and anti-P-selectin) and counterstained with 4 ',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole. The extent of vWF-loading was correlated with patient and technical data. While 12 MOs showed low vWF-loadings, 9 MOs showed high vWF-loading with highest accumulations close to crossing points of adjacent gas fibers. The presence and the extent of vWF-fibers/"cobwebs," leukocytes, platelet-leukocyte aggregates (PLAs), and P-selectin-positive platelet aggregates were independent of the extent of vWF-loading. However, the highly loaded MOs were obtained from patients with a significantly elevated SOFA score, severe thrombocytopenia, and persistent liver dysfunction. The coagulation abnormalities of these critically ill patients may cause an accumulation of the highly thrombogenic and elongated high-molecular-weight vWF multimers in the plasma which will be trapped in the MOs during the ECMO therapy. KW - ECMO KW - PLATELET ACTIVATION KW - THROMBOSIS KW - BLOOD FLOW KW - INFLAMMATION Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/aor.13513 SN - 1525-1594 VL - 43 IS - 11 SP - 1065 EP - 1076 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Philipp, Alois A1 - de Somer, Filip A1 - Foltan, Maik A1 - Bredthauer, Andre A1 - Krenkel, Lars A1 - Zeman, Florian A1 - Lehle, Karla T1 - Life span of different extracorporeal membrane systems for severe respiratory failure in the clinical practice JF - PLOS ONE N2 - Over the past decade, veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (vvECMO) has been increasingly utilized in respiratory failure in patients. This study presents our institution´s experience focusing on the life span of ECMO systems reflecting the performance of a particular system. A retrospective review of our ECMO database identified 461 adult patients undergoing vvECMO (2010-2017). Patients that required more than one system and survived the first exchange >24 hours (n = 139) were included. Life span until the first exchange and exchange criteria were analyzed for all systems (PLS, Cardiohelp HLS-set, both Maquet Cardiopulmonary, Rastatt, Germany; Deltastream/Hilite7000LT, iLA-activve, Xenios/NovaLung, Heilbronn, Germany; ECC.O5, LivaNova, Mirandola, Italy). At our ECMO center, the frequency of a system exchange was 30%. The median (IQR) life span was 9 (6-12) days. There was no difference regarding the different systems (p = 0.145 and p = 0.108, respectively). However, the Deltastream systems were exchanged more frequently due to elective technical complications (e. g. worsened gas transfer, development of coagulation disorder, increased bleedings complications) compared to the other exchanged systems (p = 0.013). In summary, the used ECMO systems are safe and effective for acute respiratory failure. There is no evidence for the usage of a specific system. Only the increased predictability of an imminent exchange preferred the usage of a Deltastream system. However, the decision to use a particular system should not depend solely on the possible criteria for an exchange. KW - Equipment Failure Analysis/statistics & numerical data KW - Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation/instrumentation KW - Membrane/classification/standards/statistics & numerical data KW - Primary Health Care/statistics & numerical data KW - Respiratory Distress Syndrome/therapy KW - Retrospective Studies KW - Severity of Illness Index KW - Time factors KW - MULTIDETECTOR COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY KW - THROMBOTIC DEPOSITS KW - ECMO SYSTEMS KW - Flow KW - OXYGENATION Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198392 VL - 13 IS - 6 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - PLOS ER -