Tests show impairment, even in children initially rated favorably.
Pediatric cardiac arrest survivors initially classified as having favorable outcomes had significant neuropsychological impairments when tested a year later, a prospective evaluation found.
While 71% of survivors in the Therapeutic Hypothermia After Pediatric Cardiac Arrest Out-of-Hospital (THAPCA-OH) and the Therapeutic Hypothermia After Pediatric Cardiac Arrest In-Hospital (THAPCA-IH) clinical trials were rated as having favorable neurobehavioral outcomes by their caregivers, a secondary analysis showed many of these children had performance-based neuropsychological deficits, reported Beth Slomine, PhD, of the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and colleagues in JAMA Neurology.
“These results provide clinicians with a better understanding of the range of outcomes in pediatric cardiac arrest survivors and provide researchers with a better understanding of the relationship between distinct outcomes assessment methods used in clinical trials.”
