Ghent University Hospital offers an eCPR programme on weekdays from 8 am to 6 pm.
Registration
To refer a patient, please contact the supervisor of the Emergency department between 8 am and 7 pm on 09 332 64 60. For children, you can also contact the paediatric intensivist directly on 09 332 69 55.
Between 7 pm and 8 am, you can contact the on-call intensivist on 09 332 42 00 for consultations regarding adult patients, and the on-call paediatric intensivist on 09 332 69 55 for children.
Inclusion criteria
As the aim is to initiate ECMO within 60 minutes of cardiac arrest, it is crucial to consider eCPR early in the resuscitation process: ideally within the first 10 minutes after the start of ALS.
You should therefore consider eCPR at the third rhythm check if at least one of the following inclusion criteria is met:
- witnessed arrest (with BLS/ALS performed by a trained responder)
- ROSC at any point
- VF/pVT/PEA as the initial rhythm
And the following exclusion criteria are absent:
- unwitnessed arrest
- asystole at any point
- CPR delay (‘No Flow Interval’) > 5 minutes
- age > 70 years
- major active bleeding
- treatment restrictions/comorbidities with no long-term prognosis
- initiation of the eCPR procedure ≥ 60 minutes after cardiac arrest
In the event of the circumstances listed below, eCPR will be assessed on a case-by-case basis:
- hypothermia
- trauma
- contraindication to anticoagulation therapy
- pulmonary embolism
- paediatric eCPR
If the patient is eligible for eCPR, they must be transferred as quickly as possible to the Emergency department or, if agreed, to the Paediatrics Intensive Care Unit at Ghent University Hospital. During transport, mechanical CPR (not in children) is recommended to ensure the quality of resuscitation and the safety of healthcare providers. To minimise time lost on arrival and to facilitate rapid vascular access, pre-hospital teams are encouraged, where possible, to expose the groins in advance.
Information to be provided with the request
When requesting an eCPR procedure, the following details are systematically requested:
- Patient’s age
- Patient’s gender
- Time of cardiac arrest
- Initial heart rhythm
- Witness to the arrest (yes/no – and if so, who?)
- Time BLS commenced
- Time of start of ALS
- Estimated height and weight of the patient
- Expected time of arrival at the Emergency department of Ghent University Hospital
Monitoring the patient after transfer
To follow up on a transferred patient, please call one of the intensive care specialists.
- Adult patients: tel. 09 332 42 00
- Child: IC Paediatrics, tel. 09 332 69 55
As a referring doctor, you can also access your patient’s medical records online via the Collaborative Care Platform (CoZo).
Multidisciplinary consultation
We regularly discuss patients with complex medical conditions at multidisciplinary consultations. If you have referred such a patient, it is often very useful for you to attend that consultation.
Discharge from hospital
Upon discharge from hospital, we send the discharge letter to the referring doctor by email (if connected to MediBridge) or by post. If the patient is stable enough to be transferred back, we will discuss this with you in advance by telephone.