Sex Differences in Patient-Reported Outcomes in the Immediate Recovery Period After Resuscitation: Findings From the Cross-sectional DenHeart Survey.
Mette Kirstine Wagner, Anne Vinggaard Christensen, Christian Hassager and 9 others
PMID 37027133WHAT IT FOUND
At discharge, women who survived cardiac arrest reported more anxiety symptoms and more fatigue than men, but quality of life, perceived health, and loneliness did not differ.
Key findings
01At hospital discharge, 43% of female cardiac arrest survivors reported anxiety symptoms at or above the HADS-A cut-off of 8, compared with 23% of male survivors.
02Female survivors reported more tiredness/fatigue than male survivors on the ESAS (5.26 vs 3.92; P = .01).
03No significant sex differences were found in health-related quality of life, perceived health, or loneliness.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The survey had a 36% response rate, so many eligible cardiac arrest survivors did not provide data. Only 35 female respondents were analysed, compared with 141 male respondents, so sex differences may be unstable. The response rate was 6% among female ICU respondents and 19% among male ICU respondents, so sicker ICU survivors may be underrepresented. No cognitive screening was done at discharge, and the Cerebral Performance Category score used to select survivors may miss mild or moderate cognitive impairment. The study measured outcomes only around discharge, so it cannot show whether these sex differences persist or predict later psychopathology. Because this is a cross-sectional survey, it cannot show that female sex caused worse patient-reported outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that female cardiac arrest survivors have worse overall recovery or that nurses should change discharge care based on sex alone. The study was cross-sectional, had a 36% response rate, and only 35 female respondents, so it cannot show cause or that screening improves outcomes.