EDECMO 102: ECPR Patient’s Brains are DIFFERENT!

This podcast explores the transformation of Vienna's ECPR program from a small center to a leading institution, emphasizing the critical role of EMS integration and continuous feedback. Ingrid Magnet and Michael Poppe detail how involving EMS in patient selection from the initial emergency call and providing them with both short-term and long-term feedback significantly improved patient outcomes. They highlight the importance of shifting from subjective rescue attempts to objective, criteria-based ECPR implementation, which led to capturing better-suited patients and reducing cannulation times. The discussion also addresses delayed neurological recovery in ECPR patients, challenging the notion that survivors often have devastating neurological outcomes, supported by data showing that a significant majority achieve neurologically intact survivorship within a year.