In a cohort of overdose patients admitted to two hospitals in northwestern France in the past decade, the authors compared survival among critically ill patients with and without extracorporeal life support (ECLS). How many of the patients with persistent cardiac arrest survived without ECLS?
0%. 3/10 or 30% survived with ECLS. 15/23 (65%) of patients poisoned by sodium channel blocking medications conventionally treated died and no deaths occurred in the six patients treated with ECLS.
Masson R et al. A comparison of survival with and without extracorporeal life support treatment for severe poisoning due to drug intoxication. Resuscitation, 2012;83:1413-1417.
Submitted by: Kirk Cumpston, DO, FAACT, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Toxicology Fellowship