The importance of power, context and agency in improving patient experience through a patient and family centred care approach.

BACKGROUND: Research shows that the way that healthcare staff experience their job impacts on their individual performance, patient experience and outcomes as well as on the performance of organisations. This article builds on this literature by investigating, with multi-disciplinary clinical teams as well as patients and relatives, what factors help or hinder changes designed to improve patient experience. METHODS: Qualitative research looking at patient- and family-centred care (PFCC) on two care pathways (stroke and hip fracture) was conducted in England and Wales. A realist approach combined with participatory action research was used to account for the complexity of organisational context and power relations. Multiple methods were used, including documentary analysis, participatory steering groups with staff and patient representatives, observations of the care pathways (n = 7), staff and patient and relative focus groups (n = 8), and hospital staff, patient and PFCC staff interviews (n = 47). RESULTS: Findings highlight multiple factors that support and hinder good patient experiences. Within individual care, paternalistic values and a lack of shared decision-making and patient-centred care still exist. Supportive interdisciplinary teamwork is needed to address issues of hierarchy, power and authority amongst staff and managers. At the organisational level, key issues of waiting times, patient flow, organisational resources and timely discharge affect staff's time and capacity to deliver care. In addition, macro contextual factors, such as finance, policy, targets and measures, set particular limits for improvement projects. CONCLUSIONS: Given this context, improving patient experience needs to go well beyond small-scale projects at the micro and meso level to incorporate a more critical understanding of systems, the wider organisational context and how power operates at multiple levels to enable and constrain action. In order to more meaningfully understand and address the factors that can help or hinder activities to improve patient experiences, PFCC frameworks and methods need to account for how power inequities operate and require the adoption of more participatory co-produced and empowering approaches to involve patients, relatives, carers and staff in improving complex healthcare environments.

High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T for diagnosis of NSTEMI in the elderly emergency department patient: a clinical cohort study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of age on the diagnostic performance of high-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT) under routine conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data of 4118 consecutive emergency department (ED) patients who underwent a routine TnT measurement between 11 October 2012 and 30 November 2013 were analysed. Diagnostic accuracy of hsTnT was compared in four age categories (<50, 50-64, 65-74, ≥75 years of age) for different cut-off values. Primary endpoint was a main hospital diagnosis of NSTEMI. RESULTS: The median age of the study population (n = 4118) was 61 years (IQR: 45-75 years). NSTEMI was diagnosed in 3.3% (n = 136) of all patients. There were significant differences in hsTnT concentrations between age-groups (p < 0.001) in all patients, but not in NSTEMI patients (p = 0.297). 72.2% of all patients ≥75 years of age (583/808) without NSTEMI had hsTnT concentrations above the 99th percentile of a healthy reference population. Specificity at 14 ng/L was 93.6% (95% CI: 92.12-94.87) in patients below 50 years of age and 27.9% (95% CI: 24.78-31.08) in patients 75 years of age and older. CONCLUSIONS: Patients' age needs to be considered at least one influencing factor on hsTnT concentrations at admission and should be included in the clinical interpretation of hsTnT concentrations for further clinical workup beneath other influencing factors like comorbidities and symptom onset time. The implementation of age-specific cut-off values could be considered for single troponin testing at admission but is associated with an increased risk of underdiagnosis of NSTEMI.

Rationale and design of the IMPACT EU-trial: improve management of heart failure with procalcitonin biomarkers in cardiology (BIC)-18.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of procalcitonin (PCT)-guided antibiotic treatment compared to current treatment practice to reduce 90-day all-cause mortality in emergency patients with shortness of breath (SOB) and suspected acute heart failure (AHF). BACKGROUND: Concomitant AHF and lower respiratory tract (or other bacterial) infection in emergency patients with dyspnea are common and can be difficult to diagnose. Early and adequate initiation of antibiotic therapy (ABX) significantly improves patient outcome, but superfluous prescription of ABX maybe harmful. METHODS: In a multicentre, prospective, randomized, controlled process trial with an open intervention, adult emergency patients with SOB and increased levels of natriuretic peptides will be randomized to either a standard care group or a PCT-guided group with respect to the initiation of antibiotic treatment. In the PCT-guided group, the initiation of antibiotic therapy is based on the results of acute PCT measurements at admission, using a cut-off of 0.2 ng/ml. A two-stage sample-size adaptive design is used; an interim analysis was done after completion of 50% of patients and the final sample size remained unchanged. Primary endpoint is 90-day all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The current study will provide evidence, whether the routine use of PCT in patients with suspected AHF improves outcome.

Early discharge using single cardiac troponin and copeptin testing in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS): a randomized, controlled clinical process study.

AIMS: This randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated whether a process with single combined testing of copeptin and troponin at admission in patients with low-to-intermediate risk and suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) does not lead to a higher proportion of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) than the current standard process (non-inferiority design). METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 902 patients were randomly assigned to either standard care or the copeptin group where patients with negative troponin and copeptin values at admission were eligible for discharge after final clinical assessment. The proportion of MACE (death, survived sudden cardiac death, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), re-hospitalization for ACS, acute unplanned percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary artery bypass grafting, or documented life threatening arrhythmias) was assessed after 30 days. Intention to treat analysis showed a MACE proportion of 5.17% [95% confidence intervals (CI) 3.30-7.65%; 23/445] in the standard group and 5.19% (95% CI 3.32-7.69%; 23/443) in the copeptin group. In the per protocol analysis, the MACE proportion was 5.34% (95% CI 3.38-7.97%) in the standard group, and 3.01% (95% CI 1.51-5.33%) in the copeptin group. These results were also corroborated by sensitivity analyses. In the copeptin group, discharged copeptin negative patients had an event rate of 0.6% (2/362). CONCLUSION: After clinical work-up and single combined testing of troponin and copeptin to rule-out AMI, early discharge of low- to intermediate risk patients with suspected ACS seems to be safe and has the potential to shorten length of stay in the ED. However, our results need to be confirmed in larger clinical trials or registries, before a clinical directive can be propagated.

Temporal release pattern of copeptin and troponin T in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome and spontaneous acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: The release pattern of copeptin during the initial 36 h of spontaneous acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has received relatively little investigation but may provide important information on optimal timing of diagnostic measurements. METHODS: We investigated the release pattern of copeptin and cardiac troponin T in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Blood samples were collected in the ambulance, at admission, and after 2, 4, 6, and 12-36 h. Copeptin and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) were measured in heparin plasma samples. RESULTS: Of 93 patients studied, 37 (39.8%) had ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), 20 (21.5%) non-STEMI, 20 (21.5%) unstable angina pectoris (UAP), and 16 (17.2%) non-ACS diagnoses. Peak copeptin concentrations were detected during ambulance transport for NSTEMI patients [median 94.0 pmol/L, interquartile range (IQR) 53.3-302.1 pmol/L] and at admission for patients with STEMI (70.0 pmol/L, 22.0-144.8 pmol/L). In patients with AMI, copeptin decreased significantly over time (P < 0.0001). This was true for patients with STEMI (P = 0.005) and non-STEMI (P = 0.021). The diagnostic performance during ambulance transport was similar for hs-cTnT (area under the ROC curve 0.75, 95% CI 0.62-0.88) and copeptin (0.81, 0.69-0.92). In early presenters (n = 52), no patient with AMI was initially (in ambulance or at admission) negative for copeptin, resulting in an area under the ROC curve of 0.963 for ambulance values and a negative predictive value of 100%. In late presenters, the negative predictive value of copeptin was 50% in ambulance and at admission. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis is the first to show a consistent early increase in copeptin at first medical contact in the ambulance and a decrease to routine values within 12-36 h in patients presenting early with spontaneous AMI.

Copeptin-marker of acute myocardial infarction.

The concentration of copeptin, the C-terminal part of pro-arginine vasopressin, has been shown to increase early after acute and severe events. Owing to complementary pathophysiology and kinetics, the unspecific marker copeptin, in combination with highly cardio-specific troponin, has been evaluated as an early-rule-out strategy for acute myocardial infarction in patients presenting with signs and symptoms of acute coronary syndrome. Overall, most studies have reported a negative predictive value between 97 and 100 % for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction in low- to intermediate-risk patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome. Additionally, a recent multicenter, randomized process study, where patients who tested negative for copeptin and troponin were discharged from the emergency department, showed that the safety of the new process was comparable to that of the current standard process. Further interventional trials and data from registries are needed to ensure the effectiveness and patient benefit of the new strategy.

Mid-regional pro-adrenomedullin improves disposition strategies for patients with acute dyspnoea: results from the BACH trial.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the value of mid-regional pro-adrenomedullin (MR-proADM) in guiding patient disposition from the emergency department (ED), as one of the key factors of hospital resource utilisation, in undifferentiated patients with acute dyspnoea. METHODS: We used clinical and outcome data from a large international biomarker study (BACH trial) and analysed data of all 1557 patients of the European and US sites presenting with acute dyspnoea. Patients were discharged or transferred from the ED to different levels of care (general ward, monitoring unit, intensive care unit). This original patient disposition was compared with the hypothetical disposition based on an adapted method of net reclassification improvement (NRI), which upgraded or downgraded patients from one level of care to the other based on the MR-proADM test result. RESULTS: MR-pro-ADM was significantly higher in patients who died during the follow-up than in survivors (p<0.0001). When applying the adapted NRI model, 30 additional patients from the European Union (EU) and 55 additional patients from USA were theoretically discharged (increase of 16.5%) if MR-proADM had been used for patient management. The overall NRI, adding up the rates of upgrades and downgrades, in the EU was 16.0% (95% CI 8.2% to 23.9%). A total of n=72 (9.9%) patients changed disposition when adding MR-pro ADM. In the USA, the overall NRI was 12.0% (5.7%-18.4%) and a total of n=81 (11.2%) patients changed disposition. CONCLUSIONS: MR-proADM has the potential to guide initial disposition of undifferentiated ED patients with acute dyspnoea and might therefore be helpful to improve resource utilisation and patient care.

Heparin strongly induces soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 release in vivo and in vitro--brief report.

OBJECTIVE: Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1) is involved in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia and coronary artery disease. Because sFlt1 has a heparin-binding site, we investigated whether or not heparin releases sFlt1 from the extracellular matrix. METHODS AND RESULTS: We measured sFlt1 before and after heparin administration in 135 patients undergoing coronary angiography, percutanous coronary intervention, or both. sFlt1 was increased directly after heparin administration (from 254 to 13,440 pg/mL) and returned to baseline within 10 hours. Umbilical veins and endothelial cells treated with heparin released sFlt1. Heparinase I and III also increased sFlt1. Mice treated with heparin had elevated sFlt1 serum levels. Their serum inhibited endothelial tube formation. CONCLUSIONS: Heparin releases sFlt1 by displacing the sFlt1 heparin-binding site from heparan sulfate proteoglycans. Heparin could induce an antiangiogenic state.

Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFLT-1) predicts post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) myocardial infarction (MI type 4a).

CONTEXT: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) related to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (MI type 4a) occurs in up to 26% of elective patients. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if sFLT-1 helps to predict MI type 4a in troponin negative patients with elective PCI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 135 patients, 106 had a PCI. sFLT-1 levels were assessed at five time points before and after PCI. RESULTS: MI type 4a occurred in 22.1% of patients. sFLT-1 levels at admission above 251 pg/mL indicated a significant relative risk for MI type 4a of 2.83. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: Increased sFLT-1 levels at baseline might indicate unstable atherosclerosis and risk for microembolization and thus be predictive of MI type 4a.

Biomarkers-in-Cardiology 8 RE-VISITED-Consistent Safety of Early Discharge with a Dual Marker Strategy Combining a Normal hs-cTnT with a Normal Copeptin in Low-to-Intermediate Risk Patients with Suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome-A Secondary Analysis of the Randomized Biomarkers-in-Cardiology 8 Trial.

Regarding the management of suspected Non-ST-segment-elevation acute coronary syndrome (ACS), the main Biomarker-in-Cardiology (BIC)-8 randomized controlled trial study had reported non-inferiority for the incidence of major adverse cardiac events at 30 days in the Copeptin group (dual marker strategy of copeptin and hs-cTnT at presentation) compared to the standard process (serial hs-cTnT testing). However, in 349 (38.7%) of the 902 patients, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin was not available for the treating physicians. High sensitivity cardiac troponin T was re-measured from thawed blood samples collected at baseline. This cohort qualified for a re-analysis of the 30-day incidence rate of MACE (death, survived cardiac death, acute myocardial infarction, re-hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome, acute unplanned percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary bypass grafting, or documented life-threatening arrhythmias), or components of the primary endpoint including death or death/MI. After re-measurement of troponin and exclusion of 9 patients with insufficient blood sample volume, 893 patients qualified for re-analysis. A total of 57 cases were detected with high sensitivity cardiac troponin T ≥ 14 ng/L who had been classified as "troponin negative" based on a conventional cardiac troponin T or I < 99th percentile upper limit of normal. Major adverse cardiac events rates after exclusion were non-inferior in the Copeptin group compared to the standard group (4.34% (95% confidence intervals 2.60-6.78%) vs. 4.27% (2.55-6.66%)). Rates were 53% lower in the per-protocol analysis (HR 0.47, 95% CI: 0.18-1.15, p = 0.09). No deaths occurred within 30 days in the discharged low risk patients of the Copeptin group. Copeptin combined with high sensitivity cardiac troponin is useful for risk stratification and allows early discharge of low-to-intermediate risk patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome is as safe as a re-testing strategy at 3 h or later.

Association of sex with the clinical course and outcome of internal emergency department patients: a secondary data analysis.

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: Differences between men and women visiting the emergency department (ED) with nonsurgical complaints have mostly been investigated in small, diagnosis-based subpopulations. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated sex-differences in an unselected cohort of nonsurgical ED patients. DESIGN: Secondary data of all patients attending two EDs of the Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin collected in the framework of their medical evaluation was reviewed. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: Within a 1-year-period all 34 333 adult internal patients presenting to one of the two EDs were included and analysed. OUTCOMES MEASURE AND ANALYSES: Sex-stratified descriptive analysis of the in-hospital course and outcome of the ED patients was performed as primary endpoint. Admission data, ED processes and diagnoses were analyzed as secondary endpoints. MAIN RESULTS: A total of 51.2% of all patients were women. Women were slightly younger (median 56 years vs. men 58 years; P < 0.001) and presented more frequently with abdominal pain and headache. Men rather showed chest pain and dyspnea. Accordingly, women had more gastroenterological diseases; men were more often diagnosed with cardiological and pneumological diseases. Women were less frequently admitted for inpatient treatment [35.3 vs. men 43.7%; difference 8.4 percentage points (95% confidence interval (CI), 7.3-9.4)] and intensive care treatment [5.8 vs. men 9.0%; difference 3.2 percentage points (95% CI, 2.7-3.8)]. Inpatient-mortality did not show significant sex differences [4.6 women vs. 4.8% men; difference 0.2 percentage points (95% CI, -0.6 to 0.8)]. CONCLUSIONS: There are significant differences in characteristics, symptoms, diagnoses and clinical course between men and women. Further investigations could identify causes and measures like sex-specific algorithms for ED-work processes.

Suitability of the German version of the Manchester Triage System to redirect emergency department patients to general practitioner care: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the suitability of the German version of the Manchester Triage System (MTS) as a potential tool to redirect emergency department (ED) patients to general practitioner care. Such tools are currently being discussed in the context of reorganisation of emergency care in Germany. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Single centre University Hospital Emergency Department. PARTICIPANTS: Adult, non-surgical ED patients. EXPOSURE: A non-urgent triage category was defined as a green or blue triage category according to the German version of the MTS. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Surrogate parameters for short-term risk (admission rate, diagnoses, length of hospital stay, admission to the intensive care unit, in-hospital and 30-day mortality) and long-term risk (1-year mortality). RESULTS: A total of 1122 people presenting to the ED participated in the study. Of these, 31.9% (n=358) received a non-urgent triage category and 68.1% (n=764) were urgent. Compared with non-urgent ED presentations, those with an urgent triage category were older (median age 60 vs 56 years, p=0.001), were more likely to require hospital admission (47.8% vs 29.6%) and had higher in-hospital mortality (1.6% vs 0.8%). There was no significant difference observed between non-urgent and urgent triage categories for 30-day mortality (1.2% [n=4] vs 2.2% [n=15]; p=0.285) or for 1-year mortality (7.9% [n=26] vs 10.5% [n=72]; p=0.190). Urgency was not a significant predictor of 1-year mortality in univariate (HR=1.35; 95% CI 0.87 to 2.12; p=0.185) and multivariate regression analyses (HR=1.20; 95% CI 0.77 to 1.89; p=0.420). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest the German MTS is unsuitable to safely identify patients for redirection to non-ED based GP care. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: U1111-1119-7564; Post-results.

The role of procalcitonin in acute heart failure patients.

Acute dyspnoea is a common chief complaint in the emergency department and is mainly caused by cardiac and pulmonary underlying diagnoses. In patients with acute heart failure (AHF), an early initiation of adequate therapy is important to improve patient outcome. Clinical differentiation of pulmonary and cardiac underlying causes and of concomitant pathologies determines which therapeutic strategy is chosen. Procalcitonin is a marker of bacterial infection, which is markedly increased in AHF patients with concomitant bacterial infection and thus has the potential to guide the early initiation of adequate antibiotic therapy. The IMPACT-EU trial is a multicenter randomized controlled trial designed to test this hypothesis. This mini-review summarizes the current literature on procalcitonin in AHF and explains the design of the IMPACT-EU trial.

Suitability of current definitions of ambulatory care sensitive conditions for research in emergency department patients: a secondary health data analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of existing definitions of ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) in the setting of an emergency department (ED) by assessing ACSC prevalence in patients admitted to hospital after their ED stay. The secondary aim was to identify ACSC suitable for specific application in the ED setting. DESIGN: Observational clinical study with secondary health data. SETTING: Two EDs of the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin. PARTICIPANTS: All medical ED patients of the 'The Charité Emergency Medicine Study' (CHARITEM) study, who were admitted as inpatients during the 1-year study period (n=13 536). OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of ACSC. RESULTS: Prevalence of ACSC in the study population differed significantly depending on the respective ACSC set used. Prevalence ranged between 19.1% (95% CI 18.4% to 19.8%; n=2586) using the definition by Albrecht et al and 36.6% (95% CI 35.8% to 37.5%; n=4960) using the definition of Naumann et al. (p<0.001). Overall ACSC prevalence (ie, when using all diagnoses used in any of the assessed ACSC-definitions) was 48.1% (95% CI 47.2% to 48.9%; n=6505). Some frequently observed diagnoses such as 'convulsion and epilepsy' (prevalence: 3.4%, 95% CI 3.1% to 3.7%; n=455), 'diseases of the urinary system' (prevalence: 1.4%; 95% CI 1.2% to 1.6%; n=191) or 'atrial fibrillation and flutter' (prevalence: 1.0%, 95% CI 0.8% to 1.2%, n=134) are not included in all of the current ACSC definitions. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the need for an optimised, ED-specific ACSC definition. Particular ACSC diagnoses (such as 'convulsion and epilepsy' or 'diseases of the urinary system' and others) seem to be of special relevance in an ED population but are not included in all available ACSC definitions. Further research towards the development of a suitable and specific ACSC definition for research in the ED setting seems warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register Deutsches Register für Klinische Studien: DRKS-ID: DRKS00000261.

[Perception of the Emergency Department for Outpatient Care in a Rural Region in Saxony-Anhalt: A Qualitative Survey of Patients and General Practitioners]. / Bedeutung der Notaufnahme für die ambulante medizinische Versorgung in einer ruralen Region in Sachsen-Anhalt: Qualitative Befragung von Patienten und Hausärzten.

Background The increasing number of low-acuity visits to Emergency Departments (ED) is an important issue in Germany and contributes to ED crowding. A sustainable solution needs deeper knowledge of patients' underlying rationales. Methods To explore patients' motives we conducted 31 semi-structured face-to-face interviews with low-acuity ED patients in a rural region in Saxony-Anhalt. Subsequently we interviewed 12 General Practitioners (GP)s about their perspectives on patients visiting ED with low-acuity conditions and referring patients to ED. A qualitative content analysis approach was used for data analysis. Results All patients were connected to a GP. One third had visited ED because of 24/7 availability when consultation hours and working times overlapped. Another third had addressed EDs full range of laboratory and imaging technology with a subjective need for fast diagnosis. One group reported that they had been referred to the ED by their GP. The interviewed GPs classified patients' ED usage for time-constraints as impatience and growing demand, while they expressed greater understanding for patients striving to ED for anxiety reasons. Most GPs sometimes referred patients to ED for diagnostic reasons. Conclusion The findings demonstrate that ED usage with non-urgent conditions takes place for different reasons. Therefore, ED plays a pivotal role not only in emergency care, but also in ambulant care. The growing demand for ambulant care indicates a need for changed health care structures.

Diagnostic performance of a high-sensitive troponin T assay and a troponin T point of care assay in the clinical routine of an Emergency Department: A clinical cohort study.

BACKGROUND: A point of care test (POCT) for troponin T (TnT) in the Emergency Department (ED) was compared to a high-sensitivity TnT (hsTnT) central laboratory test (CLT) to determine the influence of test system and different cut-off values on the diagnostic performance in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) under routine conditions. METHODS: All patients with routine TnT testing in the ED were enrolled. Only internal medicine patients without STEMI and with both troponin values were analyzed. TnT was measured with a contemporary sensitive POCT assay in the ED and with a hs-assay in the central laboratory. The diagnostic performance was analyzed at two different cut-off points (99th percentile and conventional rule-in cut-offs). Primary endpoint was the diagnosis of NSTEMI. RESULTS: Of all patients (n=3423), 3.6% had a diagnosis of NSTEMI (n=124). For the hsTnT assay, 28.4% of all values were at or below the lower limit of detection (LOD) as compared to 75.7% of the POC-TnT-values. The area under the receiver operating curves did not differ significantly between the assays (hsTnT: 0.912(95%-CI: 0.884-0.940); POC-TnT: 0.896(95%-CI: 0.859-0.933)). The diagnostic performance was very similar for both assays: the positive predictive value was below 50% for troponin values below 100ng/L and hardly increased for values between 100 and 600ng/L for hs and conventional assays. CONCLUSIONS: In our cohort of emergency patients, the diagnostic performance of conventional POC-testing was comparable to hsTnT. A 99th percentile cut-off may be useful for rule-out of NSTEMI, but seems limited for routine rule-in strategies.

Drug-eluting stents in clinical routine: a 1-year follow-up analysis based on German health insurance administrative data from 2008 to 2014.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the use of drug-eluting stents (DESs) in the largest population of statutory health insurance members in Germany, including newly developed bio-resorbable vascular scaffolds (BVSs), and to evaluate 1-year complication rates of DES as compared with bare metal stents (BMSs) in this cohort. DESIGN: Routine data analysis of statutory health insurance claims data from the years 2008 to 2014. SETTING: The German healthcare insurance Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse covers approximately 30% of the German population and is the largest nationwide provider of statutory healthcare insurance in Germany. PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: We included all patients with a claims record for a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with either DES or BMS and additionally, from 2013, BVS. Patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were excluded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: major adverse cerebrovascular and cardiovascular event (MACCE, defined as mortality, AMI, stroke and transient ischaemic attack), bypass surgery, PCI and coronary angiography) at 1 year after the intervention. RESULTS: A total of 243 581 PCI cases were included (DES excluding BVS: 143 765; BVS: 1440; BMS: 98 376). The 1-year MACCE rate was 7.42% in the DES subgroup excluding BVS and 11.29% in the BMS subgroup. The adjusted OR for MACCE was 0.72 (95% CI 0.70 to 0.75) in patients with DES excluding BVS as compared with patients with BMS. In the BVS group, the proportion of 1-year MACCE was 5.0%. CONCLUSION: The analyses demonstrate a lower MACCE rate for PCI with DES. BVSs are used in clinical routine in selected cases and seem to provide a high degree of safety, but data are still sparse.

Biomarker strategies: the diagnostic and management process of patients with suspected AMI.

Security standards of our times largely exclude a discharge of patients with chest pain from the emergency departments (EDs) based on clinical assessment alone. Given the increasing use and consequently crowding of EDs worldwide and the large proportion of patients who present to the EDs with, however vague, signs and symptoms of acute coronary syndrome, there is a strong clinical and public health need to achieve a faster but safe rule-in and rule-out of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) to direct patients onto the correct management pathway. A number of approaches for a faster rule-in and rule-out of AMI are currently under research and evaluation and some have already been integrated into current guidelines and/or implemented into the clinical routine in selected centers. This article summarizes these different diagnostic strategies for patients with suspected AMI, using cardiac troponin alone or in combination with copeptin.

Acute heart failure facts and numbers: acute heart failure populations.

Acute heart failure (AHF) is a life-threatening emergency, which largely profits from early diagnosis and treatment. The prevalence of AHF is difficult to assess, estimates range between 1 and 12% in the general population. Despite recent therapeutic advances, in-hospital mortality is high with estimates varying from 4 and 18% in different registries. Due to large differences in AHF definitions and selection criteria AHF populations vary in their characteristics and outcomes. This is especially true for randomized clinical trials and the external validity of some of these trials is questionable. Additionally, the timing of data collection and/or initiation of new therapies vary with the setting of trials. The aim of this article is to call attention to the difference in AHF populations and to emphasize the need for research to clearly define these populations. AHF populations from registries and clinical trials are the basis for evidence-based management strategies. It is important that these populations represent the patients in whom these strategies will be applied in routine care.

[Fast diagnostics in the emergency department: Laboratory testing - what we need and what we don't]. / Laboruntersuchungen - was ist sinnvoll, was ist überflüssig?

Laboratory parameters in emergency medicine can be divided into 3 categories. Urgent obligatory parameters are necessary for immediate therapeutic decisions and must be available within 60 minutes. For these, testing in the emergency department (ED) as point-of-care-testing (POCT) should be considered. The second category are obligatory parameters which require diagnostic / therapeutic consequences in the emergency department, but are not necessary for immediate life-saving actions. Due to international consensus of a 4-hour length of stay target for ED, results should be available within this time. The third category are parameters which do not lead to immediate diagnostic or therapeutic consequences, but are important for process management and patient flow in the ED. They should therefore be available as emergency tests. POC-testing should be used for a limited number of very urgent parameters and should be organized as a satellite laboratory in cooperation with the central laboratory.