This retrospective two-center cohort examined long-term outcomes among patients discharged alive after ECPR for refractory VT/VF out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Of 728 treated patients, 211 (29.0%) survived to discharge. Among hospital survivors, survival was 76.9% at 1 year and 67.2% at 5 years, with most deaths within 90 days after discharge. Favorable neurological status, defined as CPC 1–2, was present in 78.7% at discharge and 93.4%–94.2% among survivors beyond 1 year. Median follow-up was 3.9 years; 68 patients completed 5 years, and none were lost to follow-up.
These findings describe substantial long-term survival among patients who survived hospitalization after ECPR in two established systems. They do not establish a long-term survival advantage over conventional resuscitation.
Study limitation: The retrospective cohort was restricted to hospital survivors at two academic centers, and only 32% completed five years of follow-up.
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