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UK government predicts 100,000 new A/H1N1 flu cases a day by September.
BMJ. 2009;339:b2721
Authors: Henderson D
PMID: 19578092 [PubMed - in process]
Link to Article at PubMedJul 072009
Jul 072009
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Heart failure with normal ejection fraction. Pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment.
Herz. 2009 Mar;34(2):89-96
Authors: Tschöpe C, Westermann D
Symptoms of heart failure are documented in patients, in a manner independent of their current ejection fraction (EF). Today, about 50% of all heart failure patients have a normal EF (HFNEF) and their outcome regarding mortality and morbidity is as severe as in patients with reduced EF. Nevertheless, the awareness of this disease is still limited. Furthermore, the diagnostic criteria are still a challenge in the daily clinical setting. Here, the recent recommendations of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) on how to diagnose HFNEF will be reviewed. Moreover, the recent pathologic understanding will be discussed as well, because alongside noncardiac reasons for HFNEF, diastolic as well as nondiastolic abnormalities are known to be important for the development of HFNEF. Treatment options will be reviewed including the recent clinical trials for this group of patients.
PMID: 19370324 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Link to Article at PubMedJul 072009
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Frequency of elevated troponin I and diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.
Am J Cardiol. 2009 Jul 1;104(1):9-13
Authors: Javed U, Aftab W, Ambrose JA, Wessel RJ, Mouanoutoua M, Huang G, Barua RS, Weilert M, Sy F, Thatai D
This study evaluated the incidence and type of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a consecutive population with increased troponin I (TnI). AMI has recently been redefined and subclassified. Incidence, demographic data, angiographic findings, and hospital mortality of patients with various AMI subtypes or an increased TnI in the absence of AMI have not been previously reported in a prospective study. Over a 3-month period, all patients admitted from an emergency room or from in-patient services with >1 TnI level >0.04 ng/ml were evaluated and subclassified in AMI subgroups. In-hospital or recent coronary angiograms were reviewed. In-hospital mortality was noted. Of 2,944 patients with serial TnI measurements, 728 had an increased TnI and 701 (23.8%) were evaluated. Two hundred sixteen (30.8% with increased TnI and 42.7% with "rule-out MI" on admission) met criteria for AMI. One hundred forty-three (20.4%) had type 1, 64 (9.1%) had type 2, whereas 461 (65.8%) did not meet criteria for AMI. On multivariate analysis, use of angiography, peak TnI level, hyperlipidemia, and illicit drug use were independently associated with the diagnosis of AMI. TnI of 0.28 ng/ml had a 70% sensitivity and specificity for AMI diagnosis. In conclusion, a minority admitted with increased TnI have AMI by the universal definition. Type 1 is the most common AMI and is associated with higher TnI values and these patients are more likely to undergo angiography. Type 2 AMI is often associated with illicit drug use.
PMID: 19576313 [PubMed - in process]
Link to Article at PubMedJul 072009
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Comparison of outcomes using bare metal versus drug-eluting stents in coronary artery disease patients with and without human immunodeficiency virus infection.
Am J Cardiol. 2009 Jul 15;104(2):216-22
Authors: Ren X, Trilesskaya M, Kwan DM, Nguyen K, Shaw RE, Hui PY
Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention have a substantial risk of subsequent cardiovascular events. However, outcome data from HIV-infected patients who receive drug-eluting stents (DESs) are limited. We hypothesized that HIV-infected patients treated with DESs would have fewer recurrent cardiac events compared with those who receive bare metal stents (BMSs). We evaluated 97 HIV-infected patients and 97 non-HIV control patients who had undergone percutaneous coronary intervention between January 2000 and July 2007. Clinical, laboratory, and angiographic data were obtained by chart review. Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as clinically driven coronary revascularization, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and cardiovascular death, were adjudicated by 2 independent physicians. The mean age of the HIV cohort was 53 years, and all patients were men. Compared with non-HIV patients, HIV-infected patients were less likely to have hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and previous coronary artery disease and were more likely to have been treated with longer stent length and more stents. During a mean follow-up of 3.1 years, patients who received a DES had a lower rate of MACE compared with those who had received a BMS, regardless of HIV status. After multivariate adjustment for baseline characteristic differences, non-HIV-DES patients had 65% fewer MACE and HIV-DES patients had 60% fewer MACE compared with non-HIV-BMS patients. In conclusion, these data suggest that treatment with DESs in the HIV population is safe and efficacious.
PMID: 19576350 [PubMed - in process]
Link to Article at PubMedJul 072009
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Disclosing Medical Errors to Patients: It's Not What You Say, It's What They Hear.
J Gen Intern Med. 2009 Jul 4;
Authors: Wu AW, Huang IC, Stokes S, Pronovost PJ
BACKGROUND: There is consensus that patients should be told if they are injured by medical care. However, there is little information on how they react to different methods of disclosure. OBJECTIVE: To determine if volunteers' reactions to videos of physicians disclosing adverse events are related to the physician apologizing and accepting responsibility. DESIGN: Survey of viewers randomized to watch videos of disclosures of three adverse events (missed mammogram, chemotherapy overdose, delay in surgical therapy) with designed variations in extent of apology (full, non-specific, none) and acceptance of responsibility (full, none). PARTICIPANTS: Adult volunteer sample from the general community in Baltimore. MEASUREMENTS: Viewer evaluations of physicians in the videos using standardized scales. RESULTS: Of 200 volunteers, 50% were <40 years, 25% were female, 80% were African American, and 50% had completed high school. For designed variations, scores were non-significantly higher for full apology/responsibility, and lower for no apology/no responsibility. Perceived apology or responsibility was related to significantly higher ratings (chi-square, 81% vs. 38% trusted; 56% vs. 27% would refer, p < 0.05), but inclination to sue was unchanged (43% vs. 47%). In logistic regression analyses adjusting for age, gender, race and education, perceived apology and perceived responsibility were independently related to higher ratings for all measures. Inclination to sue was reduced non-significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Patients will probably respond more favorably to physicians who apologize and accept responsibility for medical errors than those who do not apologize or give ambiguous responses. Patient perceptions of what is said may be more important than what is actually said. Desire to sue may not be affected despite a full apology and acceptance of responsibility.
PMID: 19578819 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Link to Article at PubMedJul 072009
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Plasma N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide as a marker for postoperative cardiac events in high-risk patients undergoing noncardiac surgery.
Am J Cardiol. 2009 Jul 1;104(1):137-40
Authors: Schutt RC, Cevik C, Phy MP
This study considered if N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is associated with increased risk for postoperative cardiac events in high-risk patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. In addition, this report describes how levels of NT-proBNP are affected by noncardiac surgery. The study design was a prospective cohort study that enrolled 83 patients age > or =50 years with > or =1 risk factor for coronary artery disease having intermediate or high-risk noncardiac surgery. NT-proBNP levels were measured preoperatively and on postoperative days 1 and 3. During the month following surgery, 25 patients (33%) had a combined 37 postoperative cardiac events including 15 episodes of heart failure (20%), 12 episodes of new dysrhythmia (16%), 7 myocardial infarctions (9%), and 3 cardiac arrests (4%). Preoperative NT-proBNP level > or =457 pg/ml was significantly associated with occurrence of a postoperative cardiac event (odds ratio 10.5, 95% confidence interval 1.9 to 56.6, p = 0.006). After surgery, 64 of 72 patients (89%) had an increase in NT-proBNP from their preoperative level. In conclusion, this study determined there was a significant association between elevated preoperative NT-proBNP and occurrence of a postoperative cardiac event. In addition, increased NT-proBNP after noncardiac surgery is not uncommon even in the absence of clinically identifiable heart failure.
PMID: 19576335 [PubMed - in process]
Link to Article at PubMed