JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Neuropsychological sequelae of cardiac arrest.
Prospective and community-based studies on the cognitive outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have not been published. We studied prospectively the neuropsychological sequelae of cardiac arrest and evaluated the effects of nimodipine on them. ⋯ Moderate to severe neuropsychological sequelae of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are still present in approximately one half of the survivors at 1 year and may be permanent. There seems to be no excess of increased disability in the subgroup of patients with delayed advanced life support. Nimodipine failed to show any effect on the cognitive functions tested.