The objective burden in partners of heart failure patients; development and initial validation of the Dutch objective burden inventory

BACKGROUND: Measures on objective caregiver burden in partners of Heart Failure patients are hardly available and never include HF specific aspects. AIM: The main objective of our study was to develop an inventory that assesses the objective caregiver burden of partners of HF patients, including the full range of potential care giving demands. METHODS: To develop the inventory, six domains of caregiving demands were identified. Items for the domains were generated from the literature, expert opinion and existing scales. The original 50-items self-report inventory was administered to 321 partners of HF patients. Demographic data of HF partners were collected by questionnaire. Clinical data of the HF patients were collected by chart review. RESULTS: Component analysis led to exclusion of 12 original items and to a meaningful four-factor solution with a total explained variance of 43%. The components reflected four different kinds of care giving tasks; personal care, emotional, motivational and practical (treatment related) support. They demonstrated good internal consistency and initial validity was supported by a pattern of meaningful associations with external variables. CONCLUSION: The Objective Burden Inventory is a promising inventory to assess objective care giving tasks performed by HF partners, including emotional and motivational support. It provides information on the caregiver situation that may help to develop effective intervention

Pre-hospital management, procedural performance and outcomes for primary percutaneous coronary intervention in st-elevation myocardial infarction in the netherlands: Insights from the dutch cohort of the apposition-III trial

Aim The aim of this study was to achieve useful insights into pre-hospital management and procedural performance for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in the Netherlands by extrapolating patient characteristics, and procedural and clinical outcomes of the Dutch patient cohort from the APPOSITION-III trial. Methods This is a retrospective analysis from the APPOSITION-III trial with respect to the geographical borders of STEMI management. The APPOSITION-III trial was a European registry for the use of the STENTYS self-expandable stent in STEMI patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). 965 Patients were enrolled mainly in the Netherlands (n = 420, 43.5 % of the overall study population), Germany (n = 165) and France (n = 131). The data from the Dutch cohort were compared with both the overall study population, and the French and German cohorts, respectively, as well as the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) STEMI guidelines. Results In this trial there was a wide inter-country variation on symptom-to-balloon time, 165 minutes (120–318) in the Netherlands, 270 minutes (180–650) in Germany and 360 minutes (120–480) in France, respectively. In general, a preload of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) combined with heparin was more often performed in the Dutch and French cohort than in the German cohort. DAPT at discharge was high across the whole APPOSITION-III population. No important differences were seen between the different groups according to the endpoints major adverse cardiac event and stent thrombosis. Conclusion In the Dutch cohort of an European multicentre STEMI study (APPOSITION-III trial), the performance in terms of symptom-to-balloon time, and pre-, peri- and post-procedural medical treatment is in line with the recommendations of ESC STEMI guidelines

N-Terminal Pro–B-Type Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP) Measurements Until a 30% Reduction Is Attained During Acute Decompensated Heart Failure Admissions and Comparison With Discharge NT-proBNP Levels: Implications for In-Hospital Guidance of Treatment

AbstractBackgroundA >30% N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) reduction at discharge in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) predicts a favorable prognosis. To study the feasibility of guiding ADHF treatment by measuring NT-proBNP well before discharge, we assessed at which moment during hospitalization patients attain a NT-proBNP reduction of >30% (target) and whether this target is still attained at discharge.MethodsTwenty-five consecutive ADHF patients with NT-proBNP >1,700 ng/L were included (original cohort). NT-proBNP was measured daily until the target was attained, at clinical stability, and at discharge and was analyzed as percentages of patients on target. For comparison purposes, the same analysis was performed in individual patient data from 2 other ADHF cohorts (42 and 111 patients, respectively), in which NT-proBNP was measured from admission to day 3 and at discharge.ResultsIn the original cohort of 25 patients (median age 70 years, 40% male), the cumulative percentage of patients attaining the target increased gradually during admission to 22 patients (88%) in a median of 3 days (interquartile range 2–5). In the comparison cohorts, a similar course was observed in patients attaining the target before discharge. Compared with levels measured at days 2 and 3, rebound NT-proBNP increases to levels off-target at discharge were seen in up to 33% of patients in the original and comparison cohorts.ConclusionA target >30% NT-proBNP reduction is gradually attained before discharge, and rebound NT-proBNP increases to levels off-target occur in up to 33% of ADHF patients who initially attained target early during admission

Науково-інформаційні ресурси порталу бібліотеки: формування, використання

Визначено шляхи вдосконалення процесів формування та використання електронних ресурсів порталу національної бібліотеки як базової компоненти єдиного науково-інформаційного простору держави.Определены пути усовершенствования процессов формирования и использования электронных ресурсов портала национальной библиотеки как базовой компоненты единого научно-информационного пространства государства.The ways of improvement of formation and usage processes of the electronic resources of the national library portal as a base component of unified scientific information space of the state are determined

Histopathological Features of Aspirated Thrombi after Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND: Plaque disruption with superimposed thrombus is the predominant mechanism responsible for the onset of acute coronary syndromes. Studies have shown that plaque disruption and thrombotic occlusion are frequently separated in time. We established the histopathological characteristics of material aspirated during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a large consecutive ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) population. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Thrombus aspiration during primary PCI was performed in 1,362 STEMI patients. Thrombus age was classified as fresh (<1 day), lytic (1-5 days), or organized (>5 day). Further, the presence of plaque was documented. The histopathological findings were related to the clinical, angiographic, and procedural characteristics. Material could be aspirated in 1,009 patients (74%). Components of plaque were found in 395 of these patients (39%). Fresh thrombus was found in 577 of 959 patients (60%) compared to 382 patients (40%) with lytic or organized thrombi. Distal embolization was present in 21% of patients with lytic thrombus compared to 12% and 15% of patients with fresh or organized thrombus. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Material could be obtained in 74% of STEMI patients treated with thrombus aspiration during primary PCI. In 40% of patients thrombus age is older than 24 h, indicating that plaque disruption and thrombus formation occur significantly earlier than the onset of symptoms in many patients

Impact of ultra-thin struts on restenosis after chronic total occlusion recanalization: Insights from the randomized PRISON IV trial

The PRISON-IV trial showed inferior outcome in patients with chronic total occlusions (CTOs) treated with the ultrathin-struts (60\u2009\u3bcm for stent diameter 643\u2009mm, 81\u3bcm &gt;3\u2009mm) hybrid-sirolimus eluting stents (SES) compared with everolimus eluting stents (EES, 81\u2009\u3bcm). The aim of this study is to investigate if the use of smaller stents ( 643\u2009mm) was responsible for the inferior outcome reported in the trial

Pupillary Responses to High-Irradiance Blue Light Correlate with Glaucoma Severity

PurposeTo evaluate whether a chromatic pupillometry test can be used to detect impaired function of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and to determine if pupillary responses correlate with optic nerve damage and visual loss.DesignCross-sectional study.ParticipantsOne hundred sixty-one healthy controls recruited from a community polyclinic (55 men; 151 ethnic Chinese) and 40 POAG patients recruited from a glaucoma clinic (22 men; 35 ethnic Chinese) 50 years of age or older.MethodsSubjects underwent monocular exposure to narrowband blue light (469 nm) or red light (631 nm) using a modified Ganzfeld dome. Each light stimulus was increased gradually over 2 minutes to activate sequentially the rods, cones, and ipRGCs that mediate the pupillary light reflex. Pupil diameter was recorded using an infrared pupillography system.Main Outcome MeasuresPupillary responses to blue light and red light were compared between control subjects and those with POAG by constructing dose-response curves across a wide range of corneal irradiances (7–14 log photons/cm2 per second). In patients with POAG, pupillary responses were evaluated relative to standard automated perimetry testing (Humphrey Visual Field [HVF]; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA) and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy parameters (Heidelberg Retinal Tomography [HRT]; Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany).ResultsThe pupillary light reflex was reduced in patients with POAG only at higher irradiance levels, corresponding to the range of activation of ipRGCs. Pupillary responses to high-irradiance blue light associated more strongly with disease severity compared with responses to red light, with a significant linear correlation observed between pupil diameter and HVF mean deviation (r = −0.44; P = 0.005) as well as HRT linear cup-to-disc ratio (r = 0.61; P < 0.001) and several other optic nerve head parameters.ConclusionsIn glaucomatous eyes, reduced pupillary responses to high-irradiance blue light were associated with greater visual field loss and optic disc cupping. In POAG, a short chromatic pupillometry test that evaluates the function of ipRGCs can be used to estimate the degree of damage to retinal ganglion cells that mediate image-forming vision. This approach could prove useful in detecting glaucoma

Causes and predictors of early mortality in patients treated with left ventricular assist device implantation in the European Registry of Mechanical Circulatory Support (EUROMACS)

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze early mortality after continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation which remains high. Methods: We analyzed consecutive (n = 2689) patients from the European Registry for Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support (EUROMACS) undergoing continuous-flow LVAD implantation. The primary outcome was early (< 90 days) mortality. Secondary outcomes were differential causes of early post-operative death following LVAD implantation. Results: Univariable and multivariable analysis as well as regression analysis were used to examine determinants and differential causes of early (< 90 days) mortality after LVAD implantation. During the first 90 days, 2160 (80%) patients were alive with ongoing LVAD support, 40(2%) patients underwent heart transplantation, and 487(18%) deceased. The main causes of early death were MOF (36%), sepsis (28%), cardiopulmonary failure (CPF; 10%), CVA (9%), and right-sided heart failure (RHF, 8%). Furthermore, MOF and sepsis are 70% of causes of death in the first week. Independent clinical predictors of early death were age, female sex, INTERMACS profile 1 to 3, and ECMO. Laboratory predictors included elevated serum creatinine, total bilirubin, lactate, and low hemoglobin. Furthermore, hemodynamic predictors included elevated RA-to-PCWP ratio, pulmonary vascular resistance, and low systemic vascular resistance. Longer total implantation time was also independent predictor of early mortality. A simple model of 12 variables predicts early mortality following LVAD implantation with a good discriminative power with area under the curve of 0.75. Conclusions: In the EUROMACS registry, approximately one out of five patients die within 90 days after LVAD implantation. Early mortality is primarily dominated by multiorgan failure followed by sepsis. A simple model identifies important parameters which are associated with early mortality following LVAD implantation