Pediatric extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation during nights and weekends

Abstract Aim Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is a lifesaving rescue therapy for patients with refractory cardiac arrest. Previous studies suggest that maintaining a 24/7 in-house surgical team may reduce ECPR initiation time and improve survival in adult patients. However, an association between cardiac arrest occurring during off-hours and ECPR outcome has not been established in children. Methods This is a single institution, retrospective review of all pediatric patients who received ECPR from December 2008 to August 2015. Results During the study period, ECPR was performed 54 times in 53 patients (20 Weekday, 34 Night/Weekend). Interval from ECPR activation to initiation of extracorporeal life support was significantly longer during night/weekends (49 mins Night/Weekend vs. 33 mins Weekday, p< 0.001) as was the interval from ECPR activation to incision for cannulation (26 mins Night/Weekend vs. 14 mins Weekday, p < 0.001). Rate of central nervous system (CNS) injury was higher in the night/weekend group (43% Night/Weekend vs. 15% Weekday, p = 0.04), with associated 75% mortality prior to hospital discharge. Time of arrest did not impact survival to hospital discharge (44% Night/Weekend vs. 55% Weekday, p = 0.57), one-year survival (33% Night/Weekend vs. 44% Weekday, p = 0.44), or neurologic outcome (Pediatric Cerebral Performance Score at 1-year post-ECPR, 1.45 Weekday vs. 1.50 Night/Weekend, p = 0.82). Conclusions Cardiac arrest occurring at night or during weekend hours is associated with a longer ECPR initiation time and higher rates of CNS injury. However, prolonged pre-ECPR support associated with off-hours cardiac arrest does not appear to impact survival or functional outcome in pediatric patients.