Acute cardiac care & resuscitation
Delayed neurological recovery in patients after extracorporeal resuscitation compared to conventional resuscitation. Implications for outcome assessment after cardiac arrest
Authors' conclusion
Neurological outcomes in eCPR patients frequently continue to improve after 1 month after cardiac arrest.
Study context
- Population
- Adults treated with extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR) or conventional CPR (cCPR) at the Cardiac Arrest Centre Vienna, January 2020–May 2024; those surviving ≥1 month analysed435 alive at 1 month
- Participants
- 912 adults
- Exposure
- eCPR vs cCPR
- eCPRn = 209
- cCPRn = 703reference
- Outcome
- Difference in temporal change in favourable neurological outcome (CPC 1-2), eCPR vs cCPR
- Follow-up
- Between 1 and 6 months
Methodological detailssingle-centre
- Single-centre
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Favourable neurological outcome (CPC 1-2) · 1 to 6 months
1 month
6 months
Increase
| Outcome | eCPR | cCPR |
|---|---|---|
| P (1 vs 6 months) | p < 0.001 | p = ns |
- eCPR vs cCPR: P < 0.001 — 29 % vs 3 %
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
Neurological outcome between 6 and 12 months
- No change in either group
Original publication
Delayed neurological recovery in patients after extracorporeal resuscitation compared to conventional resuscitation. Implications for outcome assessment after cardiac arrest. Resuscitation. Published 11 September 2025. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it