To describe the six-month functional outcomes of patients who received extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) following in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) in Australia.

Secondary analysis of EXCEL registry data.

EXCEL is a high-quality, prospective, binational registry including adult patients who receive extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in Australia and New Zealand.

Patients reported to the EXCEL registry who received ECPR following IHCA and had the six-month outcome data available were included.

The primary outcome was functional outcome at six months measured using the modified Rankin scale (mRS). The secondary outcomes included mortality, disability, health status, and complications.

Between 15th February 2019 and 31st August 2022, 113/1251 (9.0%) patients in the registry received ECPR following IHCA (mean age 50.7 ± 13.7 years; 79/113 (69.9%) male; 74/113 (65.5%) non-shockable rhythm). At 6 months, 37/113 (32.7%) patients were alive, most (27/34 [79.4%]) with a good functional outcome (mRS 0–3). Patients had increased disability [WHODAS % Score 25.58 ± 23.39% vs 6.45 ± 12.32%; mean difference (MD) [95% (confidence interval) CI] −19.13 (−28.49 to −9.77); p < 0.001] and worse health status [EuroQol five-dimension, five-level (EQ-5D-5L) index value 0.73 ± 0.23 vs. 0.89 ± 0.14; MD (95% CI) 0.17 (0.07 to 0.26); p = 0.003] at six months compared with the baseline. The patients reported a median of 4.5 (2–6) complications at six-month follow-up.

One in three patients who received ECPR following IHCA were alive at six months and most had a good functional outcome. However, survivors reported higher levels of disability and a worse health status at six months compared with the baseline and ongoing complications were common.