Our team
Cardiopulmonary arrest is a medical event that requires urgent and immediate attention, and addressing the issues posed by in-hospital and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a major challenge for the entire critical care system, given that the statistical survival rate for the above scenarios is merely 10%, with less than 5% of such patients ultimately recovering consciousness. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), also known as extracorporeal life support (ECLS), combines mechanical circulatory support (that is, an artificial heart) and extracorporeal gas exchange (that is, an artificial lung) to temporarily support cardiopulmonary function. NTUH's ECMO team introduced ECMO assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) back in 1994, and since then, it has accumulated over 20 years of experience in this area, handled the highest number of ECPR cases worldwide, and developed a protocol built through case discussions and database analysis. The ECMO team is a rapid response team that utilizes standardized practices. It is on 24-hour standby to assist emergency and critical care units in saving patients suffering from cardiopulmonary arrest, for such assistance has been proven to improve overall and neurological prognoses. In the event that a patient cannot be saved, active efforts would be made to provide palliative care, such that the patient's suffering is minimized. ECPR has not only rewritten the conventional practices for emergency care, but also turned Taiwan into one of the world's top critical care providers.

Highlights

1. At 15%, the team accounts for the largest proportion of adult ECMO assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) cases handled worldwide.
2. The SOP developed by the team has been adopted by the hospital, across Taiwan, and throughout Asia. Asian countries seeking to develop their ECMO capabilities now flock to NTUH to receive training in this field.
3. The team boasts the lowest incidence of comorbidities.
4. The center boasts a competent team and a full range of medical care options covering emergency care, medication treatment for heart failure, cardiac catheterization, surgery, heart transplantation, ECMO, ventricular assist devices, and palliative treatment. It is one of the few comprehensive ECMO centers worldwide that is able to respond to heart or respiratory failure cases, in addition to having the capacity to handle a variety of patients, from an infant weighing 2,000 g to an adult weighing 200kg.
5. The team handled the world's first case of ECMO-assisted cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation (CPCR) combined with selective brain hypothermia.

Achievements

1. More than 2,700 ECMO cases handled by a single hospital
2. 2014 ELSO Excellent Center award
3. 2017 ELSO Excellent Center Gold award
4. Publication of key ECPR literature that has rewritten conventional practices for emergency care.

Read more
HEALTH EDUCATION INFORMATION--Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.pdf

Created at by 張雅瑩