Introduction and objective: Out of hospital sudden death constitutes a major sanitary problem. Early diagnosis and treatment are considered as the most important factors related with short term prognosis. However, there is little information about the outcome of patients admitted to the hospital after a successful recovery from an episode of sudden death outside the hospital. The objective of this study was to analyze the prognosis of patients who initially recovered after an episode of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and who were admitted to the coronary or intensive care unit.
Patients and methods: The clinical characteristics and outcome of 110 consecutive patients admitted to the coronary and intensive care units after an episode of extrahospital sudden death, who initially recovered with success, were retrospectively studied.
Results: A total of 33 (30%) patients were discharged alive and without severe neurological damage, 67 (61%) patients died before discharge from hospital and 77 (70%) died or presented severe and permanent neurological damage. The latter group versus those who survived was older (63.6 +/- 13.5 vs 55.2 +/- 12.6 years old; p < 0.006) and had a longer delay in the beginning of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (8.3 vs 2.8 min.; p < 0.01). Mortality or severe neurological damage rate was higher in the group of those who had asystolia than in those with ventricular fibrillation in the first ECG (84% vs 55%), in those who arrived to the hospital unconscious (73.7% vs 15.4%) and in those who arrived in functional class IV (81% vs 16.6%).
Conclusions: Up to 30% of the patients admitted after an episode of extrahospital cardiac arrest were discharged alive and without severe neurological damage. Advanced age, functional class IV and the delay of cardiopulmonary resuscitation are related to a unfavorable outcome.