American heart journal
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American heart journal · Jun 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyLiberal versus restrictive transfusion thresholds for patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease.
Prior trials suggest it is safe to defer transfusion at hemoglobin levels above 7 to 8 g/dL in most patients. Patients with acute coronary syndrome may benefit from higher hemoglobin levels. ⋯ The liberal transfusion strategy was associated with a trend for fewer major cardiac events and deaths than a more restrictive strategy. These results support the feasibility of and the need for a definitive trial.
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American heart journal · Jun 2013
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyAtrial fibrillation among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with sepsis: incidence and risk factors.
Newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF) during severe sepsis is associated with increased risks of in-hospital stroke and mortality. However, the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors associated with AF during the sepsis syndromes are unclear. ⋯ Atrial fibrillation is common among critically ill patients with sepsis. Acute factors, rather than preexisting cardiovascular comorbid conditions, are associated with increased risk for newly diagnosed AF during sepsis, suggesting that mechanisms of newly diagnosed AF during sepsis may differ from the general population of patients with AF.
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American heart journal · Jun 2013
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyAre we targeting the right metric for heart failure? Comparison of hospital 30-day readmission rates and total episode of care inpatient days.
Hospitals are challenged to reduce length of stay (LOS), yet simultaneously reduce readmissions for patients with heart failure (HF). This study investigates whether 30-day rehospitalization or an alternative measure of total inpatient days over an episode of care (EOC) is the best indicator of resource use, HF quality, and outcomes. ⋯ Although hospital 30-day readmission rate was poorly correlated with LOS, quality measures, and 30-day mortality, better performance on the EOC metric was associated with better 30-day survival. Total inpatient days during a 30-day EOC may more accurately reflect overall resource use and better serve as a target for quality improvement efforts.
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American heart journal · Jun 2013
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyDeveloping an ST-elevation myocardial infarction system of care in Dallas County.
The American Heart Association Caruth Initiative (AHACI) is a multiyear project to increase the speed of coronary reperfusion and create an integrated system of care for patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in Dallas County, TX. The purpose of this study was to determine if the AHACI improved key performance metrics, that is, door-to-balloon (D2B) and symptom-onset-to-balloon times, for nontransfer patients with STEMI. ⋯ The AHACI has improved the system of STEMI care for one of the largest counties in the United States, and it demonstrates the benefits of integrating EMS and hospital data, implementing standardized training and protocols, and providing benchmarking data to hospitals and EMS agencies.
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American heart journal · Jun 2013
ReviewThe role of the emergency department in acute heart failure clinical trials--enriching patient identification and enrollment.
Nearly 800,000 of the 1 million patients hospitalized with acute heart failure (AHF) every year are initially treated by emergency physicians. Signs and symptoms are typically most severe at initial presentation, but with timely diagnostic and therapeutic management, rapid improvement can be achieved. As a direct result, emergency physicians set the tone for initial AHF management. ⋯ Moreover, because the traditional approach to AHF clinical trials has relied on cardiology-based research teams to identify patients up to 24 hours after ED presentation, patients admitted to noncardiology services are often missed, and those who are captured tend to be enrolled long after initial therapy has improved acute symptoms. This has resulted in low-enrollment heart failure clinical trials, which has been approximated at 0.41 patients per site per month. We describe the landscape of initial ED management, explain how this may confound clinical trial results, and provide a multidimensional template for successful ED/cardiology collaboration aimed at improving patient enrollment and the conduct of AHF clinical trials in the United States.