E-Motion Study Reveals that Experience in Handling of the Novel Mobile Driving Unit Beneficially Impacts the Quality of Life of Pediatric Patients

Background: Recently, a novel mobile driving unit (MDU) obtained the CE mark as driver of the only ventricular assist device (VAD) approved for children of all ages and sizes. The E-Motion study investigates the MDU performance, safety, outcomes, and quality of life (QoL) of pediatric patients supported with this paracorporeal VAD in the post-market phase. This analysis investigates whether the learning curve in MDU utilization has an impact on patient QoL.

Method: Twenty-four patients were enrolled in the study. To be eligible for the study, patients had to be on VAD connected to a conventional stationary driving unit and in a condition enabling to get mobilized. Enrolled patients remained on the stationary unit for 7 ± 5 days, followed by a switch to the MDU and an additional observation period of 45 ± 7 days. All patients/caregivers completed questionnaires to evaluate QoL and stress level by means of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) score and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), respectively. For this analysis, the patient cohort was divided into group 1 (first 12 enrolled patients) and group 2 (last 12 enrolled patients).

Results: Patients of group 1 tended to be younger (3.39 ± 5.17 years vs. 6.19 ± 6.37 years) and were most likely to receive a left VAD (LVAD, 58.3%), whereas in the group 2 the biventricular (BVAD) configuration was more common (54.5%). Dilated cardiomyopathy was the most common diagnosis in both groups (66.7 and 58.3%, respectively). At the end of study, most of the patients have experienced a successful outcome (100 and 92%, respectively), one death occurred in the group 2. QoL increased in both groups for mobilization phase compared to stationary phase. While only a trend in QoL increase was observed in group 1 (11.0 score points, p = 0.129), QoL significantly increased in group 2 (16.1 score points, p = 0.031). Stress level improved in both groups, but without reaching statistical significance.

Conclusion: This analysis suggests that the experience in handling of the MDU to support pediatric patients may impact the QoL of patients. However, this study shows a steep positive learning curve indicating that proper MDU utilization can be achieved fast and easy.

No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Publication History

Article published online:
28 January 2023