Fig. 1

Flowchart of participants. CA cardiac arrest, ECMO extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ICU intensive care unit, PCAS post-cardiac arrest syndrome. PCAS is defined by at least one criterion among a time-to-ROSC > 25 min and/or a serum lactate level > 6 mmol/l and/or > 1 h of norepinephrine infusion > 0.2 µg/kg/min (or equivalent vasoconstrictor agent) to maintain mean arterial pressure (MAP) > 60–70 mmHg