Circ Cardiovasc Qual
-
Circ Cardiovasc Qual · Sep 2014
Frequent utilization of the emergency department for acute heart failure syndrome: a population-based study.
Although most research on patients with acute heart failure syndrome (AHFS) has focused on readmissions, this may provide an incomplete picture of health-care utilization. We examined the proportion and characteristics of patients with frequent emergency department (ED) visits for AHFS and associated health-care utilization. ⋯ In this large cohort study, we found that one third (31%) of ED patients with AHFS had frequent ED visits for this condition and that minority race/ethnicity and lower socioeconomic status were associated with frequent ED visits. Individuals with frequent ED visits accounted for the majority of ED visits, hospitalizations, and hospital charges.
-
Circ Cardiovasc Qual · Sep 2014
Multicenter StudyReducing contrast-induced acute kidney injury using a regional multicenter quality improvement intervention.
Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality after percutaneous coronary interventions and is a patient safety objective of the National Quality Forum. However, no formal quality improvement program to prevent CI-AKI has been conducted. Therefore, we sought to determine whether a 6-year regional multicenter quality improvement intervention could reduce CI-AKI after percutaneous coronary interventions. ⋯ Simple cost-effective quality improvement interventions can prevent ≤1 in 5 CI-AKI events in patients with undergoing nonemergent percutaneous coronary interventions.
-
Circ Cardiovasc Qual · Sep 2014
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyAccess to coronary artery bypass graft surgery under pay for performance: evidence from the premier hospital quality incentive demonstration.
Although pay for performance (P4P) has become common, many worry that P4P will lead providers to avoid offering surgical procedures to the sickest patients out of concern that poor outcomes will lead to financial penalties. ⋯ Our results show no evidence of a deleterious effect of P4P on access to coronary artery bypass graft surgery for high-risk patients with AMI. These results should be reassuring to those concerned about the potential negative effect of P4P on high-risk patients.
-
Circ Cardiovasc Qual · Sep 2014
Association between success rate and citation count of studies of radiofrequency catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: possible evidence of citation bias.
The preferential citation of studies with the highest success rates could exaggerate perceived effectiveness, particularly for treatments with widely varying published success rates such as radiofrequency catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. ⋯ Among studies of radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation, high success rate was independently associated with citation count, which may indicate citation bias. To readers of the literature, radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation could be perceived to be more effective than the data supports. These findings may have implications for a wide variety of novel cardiovascular therapies.