Outcomes of Patients With in- and out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest on Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Single-center Retrospective Cohort Study

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support has been suggested to improve the survival rate in patients with refractory in- and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA and OHCA). Several factors predict outcome in these patients, including initial heart rhythm and low-flow time. Literature shows variable survival rates among patients who received extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (EPCR). The objective of this study is to analyze the outcomes (survival rate as well as neurological and disability outcomes) of patients treated with ECPR following refractory OHCA and IHCA. This single-center, retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients with refractory cardiac arrest treated with ECPR between February 2016 and March 2020. The primary outcomes were 24-hour, hospital discharge and 1-year survival after CA and the secondary endpoints were neurological and disability outcomes. Forty-eight patients were included in the analysis. 11/48 patients are In Hospital Cardiac Arrest (IHCA) and 37/48 patients are Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA). Time from collapse to CPR for 79.2% of the patients was less than 5 minutes. The median CPR duration and collapse to ECMO were 40 and 45 minutes, respectively. The rate of survival was significantly higher in patient who presented with initial shockable rhythm (P = 0.006) and to whom targeted temperature management (TTM) post cardiac arrest was applied (P = 0.048). This first descriptive study about ECPR in the middle east region shows that 20.8% of ECPR patients survived until hospital discharge. Our analysis revealed that initial shockable rhythm and TTM are most important prognostic factors that predicts favorable neurological survival.