Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Follow-up care after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A pilot study of survivors and families’ experiences and recommendations

Mion, Marco ; Case, Rosalind ; Smith, Karen ; Lilja, Gisela LU ; Blennow Nordström, Erik LU orcid ; Swindell, Paul ; Nikolopoulou, Eleni ; Davis, Jean ; Farrell, Kelly and Gudde, Ellie , et al. (2021) In Resuscitation Plus 7.
Abstract
Background and objectives
Cognitive and physical difficulties are common in survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA); both survivors and close family members are also at risk of developing mood disorders. In the UK, dedicated follow-up pathways for OHCA survivors and their family are lacking. A cohort of survivors and family members were surveyed regarding their experience of post-discharge care and their recommended improvements.

Method
123 OHCA survivors and 39 family members completed questionnaires during an educational event or later online. Questions addressed both the actual follow-up offered and the perceived requirements for optimal follow-up from the patient and family perspective, including... (More)
Background and objectives
Cognitive and physical difficulties are common in survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA); both survivors and close family members are also at risk of developing mood disorders. In the UK, dedicated follow-up pathways for OHCA survivors and their family are lacking. A cohort of survivors and family members were surveyed regarding their experience of post-discharge care and their recommended improvements.

Method
123 OHCA survivors and 39 family members completed questionnaires during an educational event or later online. Questions addressed both the actual follow-up offered and the perceived requirements for optimal follow-up from the patient and family perspective, including consideration of timing, professionals involved, involvement of family members and areas they felt should be covered.

Results
Outpatient follow-up was commonly arranged after OHCA (77%). This was most often conducted by a cardiologist alone (80%) but survivors suggested that other professionals should also be involved (e.g. psychologist/counsellor, 64%). Topics recommended for consideration included cardiac arrest-related issues (heart disease; cause of arrest) mental fatigue/sleep disturbance, cognitive problems, emotional problems and daily activities. Most survivors advocated an early review (<1month; 61%). Most family members reported some psychological difficulties (95%); many of them (95%) advocated a dedicated follow-up appointment for family members of survivors.

Conclusions
The majority of OHCA survivors advocated an early follow-up following hospital discharge and a holistic, multidimensional assessment of arrest sequelae. These results suggest that current OHCA follow-up often fails to address patient-centred issues and to provide access to professionals deemed important by survivors and family members. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Resuscitation Plus
volume
7
article number
100154
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:34386781
  • scopus:85121768463
ISSN
2666-5204
DOI
10.1016/j.resplu.2021.100154
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d61c6162-43b9-41a2-b17d-3055ce686b8a
date added to LUP
2021-07-30 10:38:01
date last changed
2022-10-09 04:13:13
@article{d61c6162-43b9-41a2-b17d-3055ce686b8a,
  abstract     = {{Background and objectives<br>
Cognitive and physical difficulties are common in survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA); both survivors and close family members are also at risk of developing mood disorders. In the UK, dedicated follow-up pathways for OHCA survivors and their family are lacking. A cohort of survivors and family members were surveyed regarding their experience of post-discharge care and their recommended improvements.<br>
<br>
Method<br>
123 OHCA survivors and 39 family members completed questionnaires during an educational event or later online. Questions addressed both the actual follow-up offered and the perceived requirements for optimal follow-up from the patient and family perspective, including consideration of timing, professionals involved, involvement of family members and areas they felt should be covered.<br>
<br>
Results<br>
Outpatient follow-up was commonly arranged after OHCA (77%). This was most often conducted by a cardiologist alone (80%) but survivors suggested that other professionals should also be involved (e.g. psychologist/counsellor, 64%). Topics recommended for consideration included cardiac arrest-related issues (heart disease; cause of arrest) mental fatigue/sleep disturbance, cognitive problems, emotional problems and daily activities. Most survivors advocated an early review (&lt;1month; 61%). Most family members reported some psychological difficulties (95%); many of them (95%) advocated a dedicated follow-up appointment for family members of survivors.<br>
<br>
Conclusions<br>
The majority of OHCA survivors advocated an early follow-up following hospital discharge and a holistic, multidimensional assessment of arrest sequelae. These results suggest that current OHCA follow-up often fails to address patient-centred issues and to provide access to professionals deemed important by survivors and family members.}},
  author       = {{Mion, Marco and Case, Rosalind and Smith, Karen and Lilja, Gisela and Blennow Nordström, Erik and Swindell, Paul and Nikolopoulou, Eleni and Davis, Jean and Farrell, Kelly and Gudde, Ellie and Karamasis, Grigoris and Davies, John R. and Toff, William D. and Keeble, Thomas}},
  issn         = {{2666-5204}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Resuscitation Plus}},
  title        = {{Follow-up care after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A pilot study of survivors and families’ experiences and recommendations}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resplu.2021.100154}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.resplu.2021.100154}},
  volume       = {{7}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}