Mission
Extracorporeal CardioPulmonary Resuscitation (ECPR), as rescue therapy for refractory out-of-Hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), can improve outcome. In order to reduce low-flow time, the 4 Dutch Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) will be equipped with ECMO. The aim is to achive ECMO bloodflow 30-35 min after dispatch in patients with refractory OHCA, covering the entire area of The Netherlands.
Latest news
Today, the first of July 2025, the OnScene trial has ended its inclusion period. We hope we will answer the question whether Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) equipped with ECMO is lifesaving for young patients in refractory cardiac arrest. 3.5 years ago we started inclusion and have included now approx 220 patients. We’ll have a 6 months followup and expect to have data Q2 or Q3 2026. It has been a fantastic period with a lot of collaboration, fun and especially hard work. Many, many, many kudos to Xavier Moors for his endless efforts. Also Samir Ali who will write a PhD project about this and just started as a HEMS doc. Efforts of other HEMS teams: Hans van Schuppen, Fabian Kooy, Ellen Weelink, Lars Mommers, Marijn Tacken and of course all collaborating ICU’s: AmesterdamUMC, LUMC, Haga ziekenhuis, Sint Antonius, UMCG, Amphia, OLVG, Catherina, Radboud, UMCG, Isala, UMCU. All 21 Dutch EMS services and dispatch centers: thank you!! Diederik Gommers and Dennis Den Hartog, thank you for very much for backing us up. This was extremely important and made THE difference! And now? We will continue to deliver prehospital ECPR under the same conditions as the OnScene trial, at least until the results are out!
update 07 October 2022
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