Welcome back to September’s Papers of the Month. We’ve got three cracking studies for you this time, each tackling really core questions in pre-hospital and emergency care and each giving us plenty to chew over when it comes to the evidence base and what it means for our practice.

First up, we’re heading down under to Sydney with the PRECARE pilot feasibility study on pre-hospital extracorporeal CPR for refractory cardiac arrest. Now, we all know survival from refractory OHCA is pretty dismal with conventional CPR alone, and that the big limiting factor with ECPR is time to flow. So could we meaningfully shorten that window by bringing ECMO to the roadside rather than the hospital? This study tested whether pre-hospital physicians could safely and effectively deliver ECPR on scene and the results are some of the fastest low-flow times yet reported. But of course, feasibility is only one piece of the puzzle…

Next, we’re back in the UK with a service evaluation from Devon Air Ambulance looking at endotracheal intubation by critical care paramedics during cardiac arrest. Airway management in OHCA has always been a hot topic, with long-running debates over supraglottic devices versus intubation, and questions about who should be putting a tube in. This six-year dataset explores how structured education, theatre placements, and the introduction of video laryngoscopy have changed practice and whether CCPs can consistently meet the ERC’s benchmark of 95% success, or more, within two attempts. 

And finally, we’re heading to Switzerland with a study on the HOPE score in hypothermic cardiac arrest. Hypothermia remains one of those rare but high-stakes presentations where patients in cardiac arrest can sometimes make remarkable recoveries if we select the right ones for extracorporeal rewarming. The HOPE score is designed to guide those decisions by predicting survival. This study takes a retrospective cohort across two hospitals and asks: does the score actually deliver in real-world practice, and can it help avoid futile attempts at ECLS?

So, three papers, ECMO on the roadside, paramedic-led intubation in cardiac arrest, and the precision of the HOPE score. As ever, plenty to think about for both the evidence and our day-to-day practice.

Once again we’d love to hear any thoughts or feedback either on the website or via X @TheResusRoom!

Simon & Rob