The goal of this observational study is to understand the long-term outcomes of children in the Netherlands who experience cardiac arrest, either in or outside of the hospital. The main questions it aims to answer are:
What are the survival rates and neurological outcomes in children after cardiac arrest?
What types of emergency and post-resuscitation care are provided, and how do they impact long-term recovery?
How do children and their families function over time after the event?
Researchers will analyze data from routine medical records and follow patients through standard outpatient visits. No extra procedures will be required beyond normal care. For those who survive to hospital discharge, additional follow-up data will be collected with consent.
Participants will:
Be children under 18 years old who have had a cardiac arrest and were treated in one of the seven participating academic hospitals
Have their routine medical care data collected anonymously
Be invited (if surviving) for follow-up visits at 3, 12, and 24 months post-arrest and at specific ages (5, 8, 12, and 17 years) to assess physical and psychological recovery