Fux T, et al. - In this retrospective observational cohort study involving 72 patients with witnessed cardiac arrest and ≥ 1 minute of cardiopulmonary resuscitation prior to venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, researchers determined pre-venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation risk factors of 90-day mortality by using multivariable logistic regression. The study sample was comprised of 75% men, and the median age was 56 years. The identified independent risk factors included nonshockable rhythm, arterial lactate, and ischemic heart disease. The outcome was shown to be better predicted by the metabolic state, expressed as level of lactate just prior to venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation initiation, as compared with cardiopulmonary resuscitation duration or absence of return of spontaneous circulation—a novel finding in this study.