Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for Refractory Cardiac Arrest: Patient Selection Under Extreme Time Pressure
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22365792Abstract
Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) substitutes a mechanical circuit for the heart and lungs when
conventional resuscitation has failed, buying time for a reversible cause of arrest to be identified and treated. The
concept is mechanically straightforward; the clinical question is whether it can be deployed fast enough, and in the right
patients, to translate that physiological rescue into a meaningful chance of neurologically intact survival. Three
randomized trials published within three years of each other have now tested this question directly, with results that diverge
more than the shared underlying technology might suggest.
References
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[Authors not independently confirmed beyond the indexed abstract]. "The impact of selection criteria and study design on reported survival outcomes in extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR): a systematic review and meta-analysis". Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med 29(2021):142.
