Early ECMO-Facilitated Resuscitation for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation improved survival to hospital discharge, compared with standard advanced cardiac life support, in a small, randomized trial.

Patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have a poor prognosis with standard resuscitation protocols. In a single-center study (NCT03880565), investigators randomized 30 adults (mean age, 59; maximum age, 75) with ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia and no return of spontaneous circulation after three shocks to receive either standard advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) or a strategy facilitated by early veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). ECMO was instituted in the cardiac catheterization laboratory if exclusion criteria (including very low oxygenation or high lactate values) were not present; percutaneous revascularization was performed if a culprit lesion was identified.

In a final anal…

Reviewing Author

Howard C. Herrmann, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardAffluent Medical; Artedrone; Caranx; Johnson & Johnson; Medtronic; Prolifagen; Wells Fargo

EquityMicrointerventional Devices, Inc.

RoyaltiesUniversity of Pennsylvania

Grant/Research SupportAbbott Vascular; Edwards Lifesciences; Johnson & Johnson; Medtronic

Editorial BoardsCatheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions; Journal of the American College of Cardiology; Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions; JACC Cardiovascular Interventions; JACC Case Reports; JSCAI

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesHeart Valve Collaboratory (Scientific Committee Member, Chair of the Publications Committee)