Clinical outcomes of levosimendan administration in veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness of levosimendan in promoting weaning from veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) in patients with refractory cardiogenic shock through a meta-analysis of clinical trials.

DESIGN

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library and Web of Science were systematically searched from inception to January 2025.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Studies were included if they were clinical trials comparing outcomes between patients receiving levosimendan and those not receiving it during VA-ECMO support. Eligible studies reported on at least one of the predefined outcomes.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed study quality. The primary outcome was successful VA-ECMO weaning. Secondary outcomes included 30-day mortality, in-hospital mortality, duration of ECMO support and length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU). A random-effects model was used to synthesise data and estimate pooled effect sizes, with heterogeneity assessed using the I² statistic.

RESULTS

Involving 2083 patients across 16 studies, levosimendan significantly improved VA-ECMO weaning success (OR=2.44, 95% CI: 1.72 to 3.48; p<0.00001; I2=57%) compared with the control group. Additionally, it notably reduced 30-day mortality (OR=0.48, 95% CI: 0.29 to 0.81; p=0.006; I2=56%) and in-hospital mortality (OR=0.47, 95% CI: 0.26 to 0.88; p=0.02; I2=70%). Noteworthy, however, is the association of levosimendan with prolonged VA-ECMO support (days; n=1314; weighted mean difference (WMD): 2.86, 95% CI: 1.73 to 4.00; p<0.00001; I2=60%) and extended ICU stay (days; n=629; WMD: 5.69, 95% CI: 2.19 to 9.20; p=0.001; I2=61%).

CONCLUSIONS

Levosimendan improves VA-ECMO weaning success and reduces mortality. Further high-quality randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are required to confirm its clinical benefits in VA-ECMO patients. While the findings consolidate existing evidence favouring levosimendan, they also highlight residual heterogeneity and moderate-to-high risk of bias in several included studies. Therefore, future investigations, particularly well-powered RCTs with robust methodology, may help further delineate its role in specific patient populations.