Impact of independent early stage extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the emergency department following the establishment of an extracorporeal life support team

Objective: In this paper, we present a comprehensive overview of our experience in establishing and leading distinct extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR)-related teams to independently handle ECPR in the early stages in the emergency department.Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 29 patients who underwent ECPR treatment in the emergency room between May 2018 and April 2022. A control group, consisting of 10 patients treated between May 2018 and September 2019 was managed using a standard rescue coordination mode. The 19 patients who received ECPR between October 2019 and April 2022 were treated by members of the department's 24-h extracorporeal life support team. We compared the implementation and operational challenges faced by the two groups, including item preparation, circuit setup, and ECPR initiation times, among other factors.Results: Gender, age, cardiac arrest risk factors, and other baseline data did not significantly differ between the two groups. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) pipeline prefilling time (from 35.27 +/- 10.34 to 13.46 +/- 5.32), ECPR establishment time (from 62.35 +/- 29.61 to 30.98 +/- 13.41), and item preparation time (from 16.42 +/- 9.78 to 3.19 +/- 1.49) all considerably decreased when compared to the control group. The rate of return of spontaneous circulation recovery rose from 37.50 % to 77.78 % (P < 0.05). The consequences of gastrointestinal and pulmonary bleeding were greatly reduced while ECPR was being used, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Significant improvements were made in the ECPR weaning rate (from 25.00 % to 38.89 %) and survival rate (from 20.0 % to 36.8 %).Conclusion: The establishment of a 24-h extracorporeal life support team significantly reduced the time needed for rescue during the early stage of independent setup of ECPR in the emergency department and serves as a guide for effective care of critically ill patients.