Barge Caballero, GonzaloCastel Lavilla, María A.Almenar Bonet, LuisGarrido Bravo, Iris PaulaDelgado, Juan F.Rangel Sousa, DiegoGonzález Costello, JoséSegovia Cubero, JavierMartínez Sellés Oliveria Soares, ManuelBarge Caballero, EduardoEt al.2020-03-252020-03-252019Barge-Caballero, G., Castél-Lavilla, M. A., Almenar-Bonet, L., Garrido-Bravo, I. P., Delgado, J. F., Rangel-Sousa, D., González-Costello, J., Segovia-Cubero, J., Farrero-Torres, M., Lambert-Rodríguez, J. L., Crespo-Leiro, M. G., Hervás-Sotomayor, D., Portolés-Ocampo, A., Martínez-Sellés, M., Fuente-Galán, L. de la, Rábago-Juan-Aracil, G., González-Vílchez, F., Mirabet-Pérez, S., Muñiz, J., & Barge-Caballero, E. (2019). Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with or without simultaneous intra-aortic balloon pump support as a direct bridge to heart transplantation: Results from a nationwide Spanish registry. Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery, 29(5), 670–677. https://doi.org/10.1093/icvts/ivz1551569-92931569-9285http://hdl.handle.net/11268/8842OBJECTIVES To investigate the potential clinical benefit of an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) in patients supported with venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) as a bridge to heart transplantation (HT). METHODS We studied 169 patients who were listed for urgent HT under VA-ECMO support at 16 Spanish institutions from 2010 to 2015. The clinical outcomes of patients under simultaneous IABP support (n = 73) were compared to a control group of patients without IABP support (n = 96). RESULTS There were no statistically significant differences between the IABP and control groups with regard to the cumulative rates of transplantation (71.2% vs 81.2%, P = 0.17), death during VA-ECMO support (20.6% vs 14.6%, P = 0.31), transition to a different mechanical circulatory support device (5.5% vs 5.2%, P = 0.94) or weaning from VA-ECMO support due to recovery (2.7% vs 0%, P = 0.10). There was a higher incidence of bleeding events in the IABP group (45.2% vs 25%, P = 0.006; adjusted odds ratio 2.18, 95% confidence interval 1.02–4.67). In-hospital postoperative mortality after HT was 34.6% in the IABP group and 32.5% in the control group (P = 0.80). One-year survival after listing for urgent HT was 53.3% in the IABP group and 52.2% in the control group (log rank P = 0.75). Multivariate adjustment for potential confounders did not change this result (adjusted hazard ratio 0.94, 95% confidence interval 0.56–1.58). CONCLUSIONS In our study, simultaneous IABP therapy in transplant candidates under VA-ECMO support did not significantly reduce morbidity or mortality.engjournal article10.1093/icvts/ivz155open accessTrasplante de órganosCorazónTecnología médicaTrasplante de órganosSistema cardiovascularTecnología médica