Prehospital risk stratification in patients with chest pain.

OBJECTIVES: The History, ECG, Age, Risk Factors and Troponin (HEART) Score is a decision support tool applied by physicians in the emergency department developed to risk stratify low-risk patients presenting with chest pain. We assessed the potential value of this tool in prehospital setting, when applied by emergency medical services (EMS), and derived and validated a tool adapted to the prehospital setting in order to determine if it could assist with decisions regarding conveyance to a hospital. METHODS: In 2017, EMS personnel prospectively determined the HEART Score, including point-of-care (POC) troponin measurements, in patients presenting with chest pain, in the north of the Netherlands. The primary endpoint was a major adverse cardiac event (MACE), consisting of acute myocardial infarction or death, within 3 days. The components of the HEART Score were evaluated for their discriminatory value, cut-offs were calibrated for the prehospital setting and sex was substituted for cardiac risk factors to develop a prehospital HEART (preHEART) Score. This score was validated in an independent prospective cohort of 435 patients in 2018. RESULTS: Among 1208 patients prospectively recruited in the first cohort, 123 patients (10.2%) developed a MACE. The HEART Score had a negative predictive value (NPV) of 98.4% (96.4-99.3), a positive predictive value (PPV) of 35.5% (31.8-39.3) and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.81 (0.78-0.85). The preHEART Score had an NPV of 99.3% (98.1-99.8), a PPV of 49.4% (42.0-56.9) and an AUC of 0.85 (0.82-0.88), outperforming the HEART Score or POC troponin measurements on their own. Similar results were found in a validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: The HEART Score can be used in the prehospital setting to assist with conveyance decisions and choice of hospitals; however, the preHEART Score outperforms both the HEART Score and single POC troponin measurements when applied by EMS personnel in the prehospital setting.

Sex-Based Differences in Unrecognized Myocardial Infarction.

Background Myocardial infarction is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in both men and women. Atypical or the absence of symptoms, more prevalent among women, may contribute to unrecognized myocardial infarctions and missed opportunities for preventive therapies. The aim of this research is to investigate sex-based differences of undiagnosed myocardial infarction in the general population. Methods and Results In the Lifelines Cohort Study, all individuals ≥18 years with a normal baseline ECG were followed from baseline visit till first follow-up visit (≈5 years, n=97 203). Individuals with infarct-related changes between baseline and follow-up ECGs were identified. The age- and sex-specific incidence rates were calculated and sex-specific cardiac symptoms and predictors of unrecognized myocardial infarction were determined. Follow-up ECG was available after a median of 3.8 (25th and 75th percentile: 3.0-4.6) years. During follow-up, 198 women experienced myocardial infarction (incidence rate 1.92 per 1000 persons-years) compared with 365 men (incidence rate 3.30; P<0.001 versus women). In 59 (30%) women, myocardial infarction was unrecognized compared with 60 (16%) men (P<0.001 versus women). Individuals with unrecognized myocardial infarction less often reported specific cardiac symptoms compared with individuals with recognized myocardial infarction. Predictors of unrecognized myocardial infarction were mainly hypertension, smoking, and higher blood glucose level. Conclusions A substantial proportion of myocardial infarctions are unrecognized, especially in women. Opportunities for secondary preventive therapies remain underutilized if myocardial infarction is unrecognized.

The effect of feedback on cardiovascular risk factors on optimization of primary prevention: The PharmLines initiative.

BACKGROUND: It is unknown whether population based single assessment of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and feedback to individuals and general practitioners results in initiation of preventive cardiovascular pharmacotherapy in those at risk. METHODS: The population based cohort study Lifelines was linked to the IADB.nl pharmacy database to assess information on the initiation of preventive medication (N = 48,770). At the baseline visit, information on cardiovascular risk factors was collected and reported to the participants and their general practitioners. An interrupted-time-series-analysis was plotted, in which the start year of blood pressure and lipid lowering medication was displayed in years before or after the baseline visit. Subsequently, predictors of the initiation of pharmacotherapy were determined and possible reduction in cardiovascular events that could be achieved by optimal treatment of individuals at risk. RESULTS: Before the Lifelines baseline visit, 34% (out of 1,527, 95% Confidence interval (CI) 32%-36%) and 30% (out of 1,991, 95%CI 28%-32%) of the individuals at risk had a blood pressure or lipid lowering drug prescription, respectively. In those at risk, the use of blood pressure lowering medication, increased substantially during the year of the baseline visit. Treating individuals at increased risk (≥5% 10-year risk) with lipid or blood pressure lowering medication (N = 8515 and N = 6899) would have prevented 162 and 183 CVD events, respectively, in the upcoming five years. CONCLUSION: Primary prevention of CVD in the general population appears suboptimal. Feedback of cardiovascular risk factors resulted in a substantial increase of blood pressure lowering medication and extrapolated health benefits.

Topical calcipotriol for preventive treatment of hypertrophic scars: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of topical application of calcipotriol to healing wounds in preventing or reducing hypertrophic scar formation and to investigate the biochemical properties of the epidermis associated with hypertrophic scar formation. DESIGN: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial using the reduction mammoplasty wound-healing model. SETTING: University Medical Center Groningen. Patients Thirty women who underwent bilateral reduction mammoplasty. Interventions For 3 months, scar segments were treated with either topical calcipotriol or placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Three weeks, 3 months, and 12 months postoperatively, the scars were evaluated and punch biopsy samples were collected for immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: No significant difference in the prevalence of hypertrophic scars was observed between the placebo- and calcipotriol-treated scars. Only scars with activated keratinocytes 3 weeks postoperatively became hypertrophic (P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Topical application of calcipotriol during the first 3 months of wound healing does not affect the incidence of hypertrophic scar formation. We observed a strong association between keratinocyte activation and hypertrophic scar formation. Trial Registration trialregister.nl Identifier: NTR1486.