EDECMO 40: EROCA – The trial that asks “Should ER Docs Initiate ECPR?”

  EROCA - University of Michigan - Gunnerson/Shinar Should Emergency Physicians initiate ECMO on arresting patients?  That is the question that Kyle Gunnerson from the University of Michigan (UMich) is asking with their new trial - EROCA.  UMich has had a robust ECMO program for over 30 years and recently they have received a grant to fund an out of hospital cardiac arrest protocol for emergency physician initiated ECPR.  In this episode, Zack asks Kyle how this trial is being undertaken with key side points on how to start a program, how to train the personnel, and how to circumnavigate the many roadblocks we commonly face in the development of an ECMO program.  They talk about the limitations of running a trial with physicians with no prior experience in ECPR initiation as well as the novel resuscitation strategies that UMich is deploying in all of their cardiac arrest patients.