Acute cardiac care & resuscitationCohort study

Time to Return of Spontaneous Circulation and Long-Term Outcomes in Bystander-Witnessed Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Survivors

ResuscitationPublished

  • Registry-based cohort study
  • Danish Cardiac Arrest Registry
  • multivariable regression
  • time-to-event analyses

Authors' conclusion

In bystander-witnessed 30-day OHCA survivors, prolonged resuscitation does not preclude recovery, time-to-ROSC was associated with anoxic brain damage but not nursing home admission, return-to-work, or long-term survival.

Study context

Population
Adults with bystander-witnessed OHCA (2016–2023) surviving ≥30 days, without prior anoxic brain damage or nursing home admission78% male, median age 65, median time-to-ROSC 14 min · A 875 · B 869 · C 839
Participants
2,583 adults
Exposure
Outcomes stratified by time-to-ROSC
  • An = 875reference
  • Bn = 869
  • Cn = 839

Main finding

As reported in the abstract

Anoxic brain damage · 11- month
adjusted
Each group vs AHazard ratio (95% CI)
B
5.58(1.58–19.64)
C
9.98(2.93–33.96)

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Further findings

Nursing home admission · 11- month

  • Nursing home admission: p=0.04
  • Nursing home admission: adjustments attenuated the association (p=0.3)

Long-term survival · 5-year

Kaplan-Meier estimate, similar across groups
79%; 95% CI 77-81%
  • p = 0.80
  • adjusted p = 0.99

Return-to-work among employed patients (n=177, 168, 179) · 5-year

Cumulative incidence, similar across groups
60%; 95% CI 56-65%
  • p = 0.31
  • adjusted p = 0.29

Original publication

Time to Return of Spontaneous Circulation and Long-Term Outcomes in Bystander-Witnessed Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Survivors. Resuscitation. Published 6 October 2026. doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2026.111342

Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it