Key result
A multidisciplinary follow-up program for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors found that 26% of patients required psychiatric referral and were diagnosed with moderate-to-severe depression.
Why the study?
Increasing cardiac arrest survival has led to psychological consequences, but available neuropsychological assessment tools and therapies were not designed for cardiac arrest and may be inadequate.
Does a dedicated multidisciplinary follow-up program improve health and psychological outcomes in survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest?
Observational (n=21)
No
Does a dedicated multidisciplinary follow-up program improve health and psychological outcomes in survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest?
A dedicated multidisciplinary follow-up program for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors identifies significant hidden psychiatric morbidity and is associated with improved health recovery at 6 months.
Supports screening for depression after cardiac arrest; leaves open whether multidisciplinary follow-up improves outcomes.
Survival rates after cardiac arrest (CA) are increasing, with more patients and their families living with the psychological consequences of surviving a sudden CA. The currently available neuropsychological assessment tools and therapies were not designed for CA, and may be inadequate. The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre set up the United Kingdom's first dedicated multidisciplinary "Care After REsuscitation" (CARE) service, offering CA survivors and their caregivers systematic psychological, cognitive, and specialized medical support for the first 6 months after CA. Twenty-one patients were recruited into the CARE pilot service evaluation. Patients' health at hospital discharge was poor; however, by 6 months all components (except general health) had improved significantly, and were close to that experienced by "healthy" individuals. Five (26%) required referral to a psychiatrist, with all 5 (26%) subsequently being diagnosed with moderate-to-severe depression, and 3 (16%) with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder. Our study demonstrates a large unmet clinical need in general and neuropsychological assessment, and our results suggest that offering appropriate and prompt specialist diagnosis and therapies leads to an improvement in health at 6 months.
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Mion et al. (2019) conducted an observational in Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (n=21). Care After REsuscitation (CARE) multidisciplinary follow-up program was evaluated on Referral to a psychiatrist. A multidisciplinary follow-up program for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors found that 26% of patients required psychiatric referral and were diagnosed with moderate-to-severe depression.
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