Department of Intensive Medicine and Resuscitation

The Intensive Resuscitation Medicine department is affiliated with the research unit on cardiovascular and metabolic diseases UMRS 1166-ICAN of the Sorbonne University Faculty of Medicine. The service treats patients for the most severe forms of cardiogenic shock and acute respiratory distress syndrome, in particular those requiring the establishment of extracorporeal circulation by ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation).

The main research activities are related to the following areas: circulatory assistance in collaboration with the cardiac surgery department, acute respiratory distress syndrome, protective ventilation, pneumonia acquired under mechanical ventilation, cardiac arrest, myocarditis, induced hemostasis disorders by ECMO.

Key figures

The Intensive Medicine Resuscitation department takes care of around 1,300 patients per year, including 650 to 750 patients in the “resuscitation” section. Nearly half of these intensive care patients require circulatory or respiratory assistance by ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation).

A large proportion of these patients are admitted after the Mobile Circulatory Support Unit of the cardiac surgery department moved to an intensive care unit in Ile-de-France to implant ECMO. The cardiology institute thus serves as an ECMO reference center for Ile-de-France.

The main pathologies for which patients are referred to our department are:

Cardiogenic shock complicating myocardial infarction, dilated cardiomyopathy, fulminant myocarditis…
Heart transplant
Acute respiratory distress syndrome from any cause (bacterial pneumonia, influenza, COVID-19)
Infectious endocarditis

Service objectives

The Intensive Medicine Resuscitation service works, whether for the clinical part or for the research part, in close collaboration with the cardiology department and the cardiac surgery service with the aim of maintaining clinical expertise in the fields of cardiogenic shock and of the SDRA and to pursue research projects in these fields.

Current projects

The main clinical research projects already underway are:

ANCHOR: randomized study to assess the benefit of veno-arterial ECMO in myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock
LEVOECMO: randomized study to assess the interest of Levosimendan for ECMO serfdom
PRONECMO: randomized study to assess the benefit of prone decubitus in patients with severe ARDS on veno-venous ECMO
Other projects in the fields of antibiotic therapy, capillary leakage, hemostasis will begin soon