P125: Introduction of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) into emergency care: a feasibility study

Introduction: Traditionally, out of hospital cardiac arrests (CA) have poor outcomes. Incorporation of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is being used increasingly to supplement ACLS to provide better outcomes for patients. Current literature suggests potentially improved outcomes, including neurological function. We assessed the feasibility of introduction of ECPR to a regional hospital using a 4-phase study. We report phase-1, an estimation of the number of potential candidates for ECPR in our setting. Methods: Following development and agreement on local criteria for selection of patients for ECPR using a modified Delphi Technique, inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied retrospectively, to a database comprising 4 years of emergency department (ED) cardiac arrests (n=395). This provided estimates of the number of patients who would have qualified for EMS transport for ECPR and initiation of ECPR in the ED. Results: Application of criteria would result in 20.0% (95% CI 16.2-24.3%) of CA being transported to the ED for ECPR (mean 18.5 patients per year). In the ED 4.6% (95% CI 2.83-7.26%) would be eligible to receive ECPR (4.3 patients per year). Incorporating downtime criteria, 3.0% (95% CI 1.6-5.3%) qualify. After considering local in-house cardiac catheterization hours 9.4% (95% CI 6.8-12.9%) and 5.4% (95% CI 3.5-8.2%), without and with EMS rhythm assumptions respectively, would be eligible for transport. For placement on pump, 3.0% (95% CI 1.6-5.3%) and 2.4% (95% CI 1.2-4.6%), without and with use of total downtime respectively, were eligible. Conclusion: If historical patterns of CA were to continue, we believe that an ECPR program may be feasible in our regional hospital setting, with a small number of selected cardiac arrest patients meeting eligibility for transportation and initiation of ECPR. These numbers suggest that an ECPR program would not be resource intensive, yet would be sufficiently busy to maintain adequate team competency.