Clinical Course of Hypoxic-ischemic Coma after Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Korea

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study analyzed the survival and the recovery of consciousness in hypoxic-ischemic coma at different time points till 30 days after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). METHODS: A survival analysis was done using Kaplan-Meier estimates, and 30-day outcomes were calculated for all unconscious patients at 24 h, 72 h, 5 days, 7 days, and 14 days after CPR. The patient's characteristics and outcomes were compared with those for published patient series. RESULTS: After 30 days, 32.4% of 74 patients were alive and conscious, 16.2% were still unconscious, and 51.4% had died. The proportions of patients who regained conscious were 32.4% of those unconscious within 6 h post CPR, 34.7% of those still unconscious after 72 h, and 21.1% of those still unconscious after 2 weeks. The proportion surviving increased from 16.2% of patients who were unconscious initially to 63.1% of those still unconscious after 2 weeks. CONCLUSION: The outcomes of hypoxic-ischemic coma vary with the duration of unconsciousness after CPR.