Neurology
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To report the neurologic outcomes in long-term survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with ventricular fibrillation as the presenting rhythm (OHCA VF) at a population level. ⋯ Long-term survivors of OHCA VF have long-term memory deficits compared to the normal population at the same age and education level. These findings provide a baseline for cognitive outcomes studies of OHCA VF as new techniques are developed to improve survival.
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Editorial Comment
Where's the fire? Long-term neurologic outcome following cardiac arrest.
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Current guidelines indicate that certain clinical examination findings at 72 hours after cardiac arrest may be useful in prognosis. Some have suggested that hypothermia may alter the examination. We aimed to examine timing of awakening in cardiac arrest survivors treated with hypothermia. ⋯ Awakening after therapeutic hypothermia is usually evident within 3 days of cardiac arrest and not delayed compared with nonhypothermia cases. Mortality in the hypothermia group was not uncommonly preceded by consequences of critical systemic illness.