JAMA cardiology
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Demographics, Care Patterns, and Outcomes of Patients Admitted to Cardiac Intensive Care Units: The Critical Care Cardiology Trials Network Prospective North American Multicenter Registry of Cardiac Critical Illness.
Single-center and claims-based studies have described substantial changes in the landscape of care in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). Professional societies have recommended research to guide evidence-based CICU redesigns. ⋯ In a contemporary network of tertiary care CICUs, respiratory failure and shock predominated indications for admission and carried a poor prognosis. While patterns of practice varied considerably between centers, a substantial, low-risk population was identified. Multicenter collaborative networks, such as the CCCTN, could be used to help redesign cardiac critical care and to test new therapeutic strategies.