Abstract 365: The Minnesota Mobile Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Consortium for Treatment of Out-of-hospital Refractory Ventricular Fibrillation: Program Description and Outcomes

Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)-facilitated resuscitation has been shown to improve the survival rate for patients with refractory VF/VT cardiac arrest. However, survival decreases as CPR duration increases and metabolic derangement progresses. We describe here a first of its kind multi-healthcare system consortium to rapid deploy ECMO-facilitated resuscitation to patients across a metropolitan area. Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed 58 consecutive patients prospectively enrolled in the Minnesota Mobile Resuscitation Consortium’s ECMO-facilitated resuscitation program. Inclusion criteria included: 1) age 18 to 75 years, 2) VF/VT as presenting rhythm, 3) refractory cardiac arrest despite 3 shocks, 4) body habitus accommodating a LUCAS mechanical CPR device, 5) estimated transfer time of < 30 min from a cannulating center. The consortium included multiple healthcare systems, dispatch services, and emergency medical services. Essential components included EMS, selection of 3 ECMO cannulation sites in geographically favorable emergency departments, a centralized ECMO center for post-arrest care, and a 24/7 mobile ECMO cannulation team. The cannulation team provided ECMO cannulation and medical care until the patient reached the ECMO center. Results: From December 1, 2019 to April 1, 2020, 58 consecutive patients were treated by the mobile ECMO team. Mean age was 57 ± 1.8 years. Of these, 25/58 (43%) were discharged from the hospital with neurologically favorable survival. Patients were cannulated at all three cannulation sites with transport to the nearest site leading to mean professional CPR time of 52 min. Conclusions: This represents the first community-wide ECMO-facilitated resuscitation program in the United States. A consortium including multiple healthcare systems and emergency medical services coordinated efforts to rapidly deliver patients with refractory VF/VT cardiac arrest to a highly trained and equipped mobile ECMO cannulation team resulting in improved neurologically favorable survival.