Levosimendan to Facilitate Weaning From ECMO in Patients With Severe Cardiogenic Shock

In patients with severe but potentially reversible cardiogenic shock who are receiving venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO), does early administration of levosimendan improve time to successful ECMO weaning within 30 days following randomization?In this double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial that included 205 patients receiving VA-ECMO, successful ECMO weaning at day 30 occurred in 69 (68.3%) in the levosimendan group compared with 71 (68.3%) in the placebo group, a nonsignificant difference.In patients with potentially reversible cardiogenic shock supported by VA-ECMO, levosimendan did not reduce the time to successful weaning from ECMO compared with placebo.

Corresponding Author: Alain Combes, MD, PhD, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, UMRS_1166-ICAN, Institute of Cardiometabolism and Nutrition and Service de Médecine Intensive-Réanimation, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Sorbonne Université Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, 47 boulevard de l’Hôpital, F-75013 Paris, France (alain.combes@aphp.fr).

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