Work Status, Functional Recovery, and Quality of Life of Cardiac Arrest Survivors After Hospital Discharge

Background To investigate the work status, neurological recovery, and quality of life of cardiac arrest survivors within 1 year after hospital discharge. Methods A retrospective single center study included 71 non-traumatic adult cardiac arrest patients between 2017 and 2020, who survived more than 1 year after hospital discharge and agreed to participate the study. Questionnaire interviews through telephone visits were conducted with the enrolled patients, assessing their work status, neurological recovery, and quality of life at 3 months and 1 year after hospital discharge. Additionally, their use of medical services was also collected. Results Of the enrolled patients, 67 (94.4%) had a cerebral performance category (CPC) of 1 at discharge and the majority of patients (90.1%) returned home. Sixty-seven patients (94.4%) returned for outpatient visits at a median time of 6 days, 23 patients (32.4%) visited the ER at a median time of 74 days, and 22 patients (31.0%) were readmitted to the hospital at a median time of 58 days. In terms of mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and health state assessed using the EQ-5D-5L, a significant decrease in impairment was observed from 3 months to 1 year. Moreover, patients demonstrated improved work status as well as improved scores for overall quality of life, general health, physical, psychological, social relations, and environmental status evaluated using the WHOQOL-BREF. Conclusions Within 1 year following hospital discharge, a considerable number of cardiac arrest survivors require medical support. However, a continual improvement in work status and quality of life were observed.