Outcomes and implications of patients included vs excluded for extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation after initial activation

The implementation of ECPR with strict eligibility criteria resulted in a small number of cannulations but a high survival rate. Strict criteria may lead to missed opportunities for successful ECPR and occasionally trigger activation of the ECPR team without ultimately performing cannulation. As institutions develop their ECPR programs, they should carefully consider eligibility criteria in order to balance survival rate and case volume.