Abstract 11336: Experience with an Institutional Guideline on Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for Refractory in Hospital and Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Abstract

Aim: To compare survival rates in patients with refractory cardiac arrest treated with extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) before and after implementation of an action card.The primary outcome was survival to discharge, and secondary outcomes were low-flow time and rate of cerebral complications. Methods: Retrospective evaluation of 37 patients treated with ECPR for refractory cardiac arrest. Information was obtained through medical records. Patients were categorized into two groups - before (BA) and after (AA) introduction of an action card. The card entailed inclusion and exclusion criteria used to evaluate the benefit of ECPR for any individual patient. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in baseline characteristics between the groups.After the introduction of the action card, survival to discharge increased from 6.7 % to 18.2 % suggesting a trend toward improved survival, despite this finding being statistically insignificant (p = 0.629).Low-flow time was reduced from 100 (12-195) minutes to 66 (30-195) minutes and the upper extreme was reduced from 195 to 153 minutes, but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.334).Cerebral factors contributed to significantly fewer deaths in AA compared with BA (p = 0.0022). Conclusion: There was no statistically significant improvement in survival rates nor a reduction in low-flow time after the implementation of an action card for the use of ECPR in patients with refractory CA. However, cerebral causes factored in fewer deaths and several patients survived despite meeting potential exclusion criteria outlined in local and international guidelines.