ECMO After Prolonged Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation as a Successful Bridge to Immediate Cardiac Retransplant in a 6-Year-Old Girl

Abstract

Heart failure, life-threatening arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death are common complications in patients with advanced chronic cardiac allograft rejection—the major limiting factor of long-term survival after heart transplant. In patients with sustained cardiorespiratory arrest refractory to cardiopulmonary resuscitation extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy is a therapeutic option.

We report the case of a 6-year-old girl with severe chronic allograft vasculopathy who was successfully bridged to cardiac retransplant through extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy after prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Our case demonstrates extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a rescuing therapeutic option in high-risk, bridge-to-transplant patients, with cardiac arrest. Even after prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation, there were no neurologic events, and our patient recovered without any neurologic damage.