# Cardiac Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Community Cardiac Surgery Program: Are the Results Comparable?

## TL;DR

This study shows that a community hospital's ECMO program for heart failure patients can achieve results similar to national averages when protocols and standards are optimized.

## Contribution

Demonstrates that community hospitals can achieve comparable ECMO outcomes to larger centers through optimized protocols and cannulation standards.

## Key findings

- The overall survival rate for cardiac ECMO was 48%, matching the ELSO national average.
- Hospital survival rates for VA ECMO and ECPR were 36% and 28%, close to the national averages of 48% and 30%.
- ECMO outcomes in a community hospital setting were not significantly worse than those in larger centers.

## Abstract

Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) outcomes in small centers are commonly considered less favorable than in large-volume centers. New ECMO protocols and procedures were established in our regional community hospital system as part of a cardiogenic shock initiative. This retrospective study aims to evaluate the outcomes of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) and extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) in a community hospital system with cardiac surgery capability and assess whether protocol optimization and cannulation standards result in comparable outcomes to larger centers whether the outcomes of this new ECMO program at the community hospital setting were comparable to the United States averages.

Methods: Our regional system comprises five hospitals with 1500 beds covering southwestern New Jersey, with only one of these hospitals having cardiac surgery and ECMO capability. In May 2021, the new ECMO program was initiated. Patients were screened by a multidisciplinary call, cannulated by our ECMO team, and subsequently treated by the designated team. We reviewed our cardiac ECMO outcomes over two years, from May 2021 to April 2023, in patients who required ECMO due to cardiogenic shock or as a part of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR).

Results: A total of 60 patients underwent cardiac ECMO, and all were VA ECMO, including 18 (30%) patients who required ECPR for cardiac arrest. The overall survival rate for our cardiac ECMO program turned out to be 48% (29/60), with 50% (22/42) in VA ECMO excluding ECPR and 39% (7/18) in the ECPR group. The hospital survival rate for the VA ECMO and ECPR groups was 36% (15/42) and 28% (5/18), respectively. The ELSO-reported national average for hospital survival is 48% for VA ECMO and 30% for ECPR. Considering these benchmarks, the hospital survival rate of our program did not significantly lag behind the national average.

Conclusions: With protocol, cannulation standards, and ECMO management optimized, the VA ECMO results of a community hospital system with cardiac surgery capability were not inferior to those of larger centers.