Introduction:
Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) may be considered for select cardiac arrest patients for whom the suspected etiology of the arrest is potentially reversible. In adults, the survival to discharge with ECPR is reportedly 22% to 33%, with better outcomes for in-hospital arrests. Outcomes with ECPR depend on multiple factors including, location of arrest, etiology, duration and quality of CPR, time to initiation of ECMO, and post-arrest management. There is no consensus regarding patient selection or management of these patients. We report our preliminary experiences with ECPR for refractory cardiac arrest.
Methods:
Patients who underwent ECPR between January 2013 and May 2018 were identified. The characteristics of the arrest, CPR duration, cannulation procedure, post-arrest management, complications, survival and neurologic outcomes were retrospectively reviewed.
Results:
A total of 24 ECPR events were identified. The median age was 60 years. The median CPR duration and time from collapse to initiation of ECMO were 35 (IQR 25.5-68) and 68 (IQR 45.5-144.5) min, respectively. Peripheral and central access sites were employed in 19 and 5 cases, respectively. Return of spontaneous circulation was achieved in 21 patients (87.5%). PCI was performed on 4 and pulmonary embolectomy on 3 patients. Median duration of ECMO support was 84 (IQR 24-168) hours. Major complications occurred in 17 patients (70.8%). Nine patients (37.5%) were successfully weaned from ECMO and 7 (29.2%) survived to hospital discharge. All of the survivors had a favorable neurologic outcome.
Conclusions:
ECPR as part of a comprehensive multi-faceted approach for select patients with refractory cardiac arrest may improve outcomes. We noted an improvement in outcomes over time. This could be attributed to improved selection criteria as well as clinical management. The development of selection criteria may help identify patients most likely to benefit from the use of ECPR. This would have significant resource implications for hospitals with ECMO programs.