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Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) can restore circulation after prolonged cardiopulmonary arrest, but does it improve neurological outcomes? Researchers analyzed a prospective, observational cohort of patients aged ≥16 years with witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest of presumed cardiac etiology who received prolonged (>20 minutes) cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and were transported to a single hospital in Japan between 2000 and 2004. Choice of treatment was at the discretion of the attending physician; 53 patients received ECMO and 109 received conventional CPR.
Patients who received ECMO were significantly younger and more likely to perform well on activities of daily living before the cardiac arrest, to have received byst…