Refractory shock was the leading cause of death among our cohort of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) patients, followed closely by neurological complications, while other causes are rare.

In this post-hoc analysis of a prospective registry, the causes of death were categorized using a predefined method specifically developed for cardiac arrest patients.

Two investigators independently assigned each patient to one of five predefined categories of death, with interrater reliability measured using Fleiss’ kappa.

From January 2012 to December 2023, a total of 1,219 OHCA patients were admitted to the hospital, of whom 210 underwent ECPR.

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