TY - JOUR
T1 - Near-death experiences after cardiac arrest
T2 - a scoping review
AU - Kovoor, Joshua G.
AU - Santhosh, Sanjana
AU - Stretton, Brandon
AU - Tan, Sheryn
AU - Gouldooz, Hasti
AU - Moorthy, Sylviya
AU - Pietris, James
AU - Hannemann, Christopher
AU - Yu, Long Kiu
AU - Johnson, Rhys
AU - Reddi, Benjamin A.
AU - Gupta, Aashray K.
AU - Wagner, Morganne
AU - Page, Gregory J.
AU - Kovoor, Pramesh
AU - Bastiampillai, Tarun
AU - Maddocks, Ian
AU - Perry, Seth W.
AU - Wong, Ma Li
AU - Licinio, Julio
AU - Bacchi, Stephen
PY - 2024/5/28
Y1 - 2024/5/28
N2 - Background: This scoping review aimed to characterise near-death experiences in the setting of cardiac arrest, a phenomenon that is poorly understood and may have clinical consequences. Method: PubMed/MEDLINE was searched to 23 July 2023 for prospective studies describing near-death experiences in cardiac arrest. PRISMA-ScR guidelines were adhered to. Qualitative and quantitative data were synthesised. Meta-analysis was precluded due to data heterogeneity. Results: 60 records were identified, of which 11 studies involving interviews were included from various countries. Sample size ranged from 28–344, and proportion of female patients (when reported) was 0–50%, with mean age (when reported) ranging 54–64 years. Comorbidities and reasons for cardiac arrest were heterogeneously reported. Incidence of near-death experiences in the included studies varied from 6.3% to 39.3%; with variation between in-hospital (6.3–39.3%) versus out-of-hospital (18.9–21.2%) cardiac arrest. Individual variables regarding patient characteristics demonstrated statistically significant association with propensity for near-death experiences. Reported content of near-death experiences tended to reflect the language of the questionnaires used, rather than the true language used by individual study participants. Three studies conducted follow-up, and all suggested a positive life attitude change, however one found significantly higher 30-day all-cause mortality in patients with near-death experiences versus those without, in non-controlled analysis. Conclusions: From prospective studies that have investigated the phenomenon, near-death experiences may occur in as frequent as over one-third of patients with cardiac arrest. Lasting effects may follow these events, however these could also be confounded by clinical characteristics.
AB - Background: This scoping review aimed to characterise near-death experiences in the setting of cardiac arrest, a phenomenon that is poorly understood and may have clinical consequences. Method: PubMed/MEDLINE was searched to 23 July 2023 for prospective studies describing near-death experiences in cardiac arrest. PRISMA-ScR guidelines were adhered to. Qualitative and quantitative data were synthesised. Meta-analysis was precluded due to data heterogeneity. Results: 60 records were identified, of which 11 studies involving interviews were included from various countries. Sample size ranged from 28–344, and proportion of female patients (when reported) was 0–50%, with mean age (when reported) ranging 54–64 years. Comorbidities and reasons for cardiac arrest were heterogeneously reported. Incidence of near-death experiences in the included studies varied from 6.3% to 39.3%; with variation between in-hospital (6.3–39.3%) versus out-of-hospital (18.9–21.2%) cardiac arrest. Individual variables regarding patient characteristics demonstrated statistically significant association with propensity for near-death experiences. Reported content of near-death experiences tended to reflect the language of the questionnaires used, rather than the true language used by individual study participants. Three studies conducted follow-up, and all suggested a positive life attitude change, however one found significantly higher 30-day all-cause mortality in patients with near-death experiences versus those without, in non-controlled analysis. Conclusions: From prospective studies that have investigated the phenomenon, near-death experiences may occur in as frequent as over one-third of patients with cardiac arrest. Lasting effects may follow these events, however these could also be confounded by clinical characteristics.
KW - near-death experiences
KW - cardiac arrest
KW - clinical consequences
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85194852363&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s44192-024-00072-7
DO - 10.1007/s44192-024-00072-7
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85194852363
SN - 2731-4383
VL - 4
JO - Discover Mental Health
JF - Discover Mental Health
IS - 1
M1 - 19
ER -