Long-term outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors in New Zealand: A prospective, longitudinal cohort study

Objective Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a devastating event that can have ongoing neurological and functional sequelae for survivors, which impact their whānau/family and society. Information on long-term survival remains incomplete. We aimed to understand the long-term neurological, functional, and health-related quality of life outcomes and survival of patients with OHCA at 24 months in New Zealand. Design We performed a preplanned prospective, longitudinal cohort study. Setting New Zealand Participants Participants enrolled in the Targeted Therapeutic Mild Hypercapnia after resuscitated Cardiac Arrest (TAME trial) in New Zealand. Main outcome measures Participants had a comprehensive follow-up at 6 and 24 months using the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended to determine neurological outcome as well as multiple other patient-centred functional outcome assessment tools. Results We included all 200 TAME participants enrolled in New Zealand, of whom 194 (97%) had 24-month data. There was no difference in the primary and secondary TAME study outcomes between groups, with overall 56.3% of participants having a favourable neurological outcome at 6 months. In the New Zealand subpopulation, functional and health-related quality of life status at 24 months was not worse than at 6 months for most survivors, with very few participants reporting more than slight disability. Conclusions Among New Zealand TAME trial participants, neurological and functional outcomes measured across multiple domains generally remained stable or improved between 6 and 24 months. These findings provide important information for survivors of OHCA, their whānau/family, clinicians, and researchers on the timing and trajectory of neurological and functional recovery.