Cognition, quality of life, and psychological outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors − Results from the German Cardiac Arrest Registry (G-CAR)

doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2026.111277

Cardiac arrest & resuscitation

Cognition, quality of life, and psychological outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors − Results from the German Cardiac Arrest Registry (G-CAR)

ResuscitationPublished 24 Aug 2026Prospective registry cohort study

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Authors' conclusion

OHCA survivors generally reported good long-term quality of life, successful social reintegration, and low psychological distress. However, persistent cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms affected a substantial proportion of survivors

Study context

Population: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors to hospital discharge, German Cardiac Arrest Registry (G-CAR), July 2021–August 2024416 survived to discharge
Participants: 1,644 survivors

Exposure: 6M-FU vs 12M-FU
6M-FUn = 354
12M-FUn = 307
Outcome: Cognitive function (Mini Montreal Cognitive Assessment (Mini-MoCA)), HRQoL (EQ-5D-5L), reintegration (Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI)), psychological outcomes (HADS, PTSS-14)
Follow-up: 6 and 12 months

Methodological detailsmulticentre registry

Multicentre registry

Main finding

As reported in the abstract

Cognitive impairment (Mini-MoCA)

6M-FU30.5%

12M-FU33.6%

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Further findings

Outcome	6M-FU	12M-FU
HRQoL EQ-5D-5L indexMean	0.83 (SD 0.24)	0.84 (SD 0.23)
Reintegration (RNLI)	37.9 ± 7.3	38.4 ± 6.9
PTSS-14 scoreMean	30.9	31.3

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) EQ-5D-5L index

At least 75% reported no or slight limitations across EQ-5D-5L dimensions; index comparable to age-matched German population

Abnormal depressive symptom scores (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS))

Abnormal depressive symptom scores; most had normal HADS scores: 13%

PTSS-14 score

Below threshold suggestive of PTSD at both follow-ups

Original publication

Cognition, quality of life, and psychological outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors − Results from the German Cardiac Arrest Registry (G-CAR). Resuscitation. Published 24 August 2026. doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2026.111277

Read the original article ↗

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