Abstract 229: Access to a Portable Miniaturized Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation System Increases Utilization for Cardiac Arrest Patients

Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has improved outcomes in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS). Recent data and guidelines have recommended the use of venous-arterial (VA) ECMO in patients who have been successfully resuscitated from cardiac arrest (ROSC) to ameliorate the effects of post-resuscitation myocardial dysfunction. Use of ECMO often involves taking a patient to the operating room delaying the onset of care. We hypothesized that utilization of the Maquet Cardiohelp, a portable miniaturized ECMO system, in the cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL), would increase use of ECMO for cardiac arrest patients. Methods: Cardiohelp (CH) ECMO was acquired in March 2012 by our tertiary care university hospital. We performed a retrospective analysis comparing the patients who received CH ECMO from March 2012 until June 2012 to those that received Centrimag (CM), a traditional ECMO circuit, in the in the 6 months prior to March 2012. Results: All patients were treated with femoral VA ECMO with antegrade perfusion distal via a percutaneous catheter in the superficial femoral artery. Overall, more patients were treated with CH compared to CM. Compared to patients who received CM, CH patients were more likely to have been referred for ECMO after ROSC from cardiac arrest and were more likely to have been transferred directly from the Emergency Department (ED). CM patients were slightly younger and were referred for ECMO treatment primarily due to cardiogenic shock (SBP3 pressors). 30 day survival was similar in both groups and there were no cases of stroke or limb ischemia. Conclusions: Use of the portable CH ECMO system with CCL initiation is associated with increased utilization of ECMO and particularly for the treatment of ED ROSC patients. This may be due to the portability of the device and existing relationships between the CCL and the ED. Rapid utilization of ECMO for these patients may lead to improved clinical outcomes.