Bilirubin—a possible prognostic mortality marker for patients with ECLS

Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is a promising therapeutic option for patients with refractory cardiogenic shock. However, as the mortality rate still remains high, there is a need for early outcome parameters reflecting therapy success or futility. Therefore, we investigated whether liver enzyme levels could serve as prognostic mortality markers for patients with ECLS. The present study is a retrospective single-center cohort study. Adult patients >18 years of age who received ECLS therapy between 2011 and 2018 were included. Bilirubin, glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), and glutamic-pyruvic-transaminase (GPT) serum levels were analyzed at day 5 after the start of the ECLS therapy. The primary endpoint of this study was all-cause in-hospital mortality. A total of 438 patients received ECLS during the observation period. Based on the inclusion criteria, 298 patients were selected for the statistical analysis. The overall mortality rate was 42.6% (n = 127). The area under the curve (AUC) in the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for bilirubin on day 5 was 0.72 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.66–0.78). Cox regression with multivariable adjustment revealed a significant association between bilirubin on day 5 and mortality, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.24 (95% CI: 1.53–3.30). Based on the results of this study, an increase in serum bilirubin on day 5 of ECLS therapy correlates independently with mortality.