Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) followed by targeted temperature management has been demonstrated to significantly improve the outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in adult patients. Although recent narrative and systematic reviews on extracorporeal life support in the emergency department are available in the literature, they are focused on the efficacy of ECPR, and no comprehensively summarized review on ECPR for OHCA in adult patients is available. In this review, we aimed to clarify the prevalence, pathophysiology, predictors, management, and details of the complications of ECPR for OHCA, all of which have not been reviewed in previous literature, with the aim of facilitating understanding among acute care physicians. The leading countries in the field of ECPR are those in East Asia followed by those in Europe and the United States. ECPR may reduce the risks of reperfusion injury and deterioration to secondary brain injury. Unlike conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation, however, no clear prognostic markers have been identified for ECPR for OHCA. Bleeding was identified as the most common complication of ECPR in patients with OHCA. Future studies should combine ECPR with intra-aortic balloon pump, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation flow, target blood pressure, and seizure management in ECPR.
Keywords: complications; extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation; management; out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest; pathophysiology; predictors; prevalence.