Extensive Myocardial Calcification in Critically Ill Patients.

OBJECTIVES

To describe an unusual complication on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

DATA SOURCES

Clinical observation.

STUDY SELECTION

Case report.

DATA EXTRACTION

Relevant clinical information.

DATA SYNTHESIS

We report the cases of three young patients who developed extensive myocardial calcifications on prolonged extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome with septic cardiomyopathy, postresuscitation cardiogenic shock, and septic shock complicating severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, respectively. Extensive myocardial calcifications were confirmed by echocardiography, CT, and cardiac biopsy. The combination of multiple factors, for example, prolonged hemodynamic failure, profound acidosis, high vasopressor doses, and renal failure, may lead to this unusual and severe complication.

CONCLUSIONS

Intensivists should be aware of this rare but rapid complication on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support that may directly impact outcome. The precise role of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support in the timing and frequency of new-onset diffuse myocardial calcification deserves further investigation.