Predicting aggressive behavior in psychiatric patients in emergency department: A systematic literature review.

INTRODUCTION: Aggression and violence are major concerns in emergency departments (EDs), and have negative consequences for patient and staff health and safety. Few validated tools exist for identifying patients at risk of agitation. This study conducted a systematic literature review to identify and summarize the scores that predict aggressive behavior in EDs. METHODS: The search included articles published between Jan 1st, 1987, and Dec 31st, 2022, using the terms "aggress*," "violent*," "emergency," "acute," "score," or "scale." RESULTS: Ten scores were found to be relevant, with eight of the developed scores intended for use in EDs. The Aggressive Behavior Risk Assessment Tool (ABRAT) was found to be sensitive (84.3%) and specific (95.3%). The Brøset Violence Checklist (BVC) was highly specific (99.4%), whereas the Violence Screening Checklist (VSC) was less sensitive (57.2%) and specific (45.7%). The violence and aggression (OVA)/BVC checklist was found to significantly decrease the number of security call activations (P < 0.001). The Behavioral Activity Rating Scale (BARS) and OVA/BVC scores were the shortest, with seven and six items, respectively. CONCLUSION: The OVA/BVC checklist is a valuable tool for predicting and preventing violence in the EDs. Future prospective studies should investigate its effectiveness.

Diagnostic and prognostic performance of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in acute coronary syndromes: A meta-analysis of 90 studies including 45 990 patients.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of mortality worldwide and is likely to rise. Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is consequent on inflammation. As a common and cost-effective inflammatory biomarker, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may be beneficial in cardiovascular medicine. AIMS: This meta-analysis examines the diagnostic and prognostic performance of the NLR in ACS. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed Central, Medline, Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Clinicaltrial.gov databases. The search spanned from databases inception to January 10, 2024. The findings were aggregated into normalized mean differences with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Ninety articles, with 45 990 participants, were included. Pooled analysis of the NLR varied and was higher in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) vs. non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients (4.94 ± 3.24 vs. 3.24 ± 2.74), acute myocardial infarction vs. unstable angina (4.47 ± 3.43 vs. 2.97 ± 1.58), ACS vs. stable angina (SA) (5.45 ± 4.28 vs. 2.46 ± 2.15), and ACS vs. controls (5.31 ± 4.01 vs. 2.46 ± 2.45). The NLR also was associated with ACS mortality, with survivors having lower results (3.67 ± 2.72 vs. 5.56 ± 3.93). Subanalysis showed that differences in the NLR were observed in STEMI survivors (4.28 ± 3.24 vs. 6.79 ± 3.98). Of ACS patients with major cardiovascular events (MACE) vs. without MACE, the NLR was 6.29 ± 4.89 vs. 3.82 ± 4.12. In STEMI patients, the NLR differed between those with and without MACE (6.99 ± 5.27 vs. 4.99 ± 4.12). CONCLUSIONS: The NLR is an effective tool for differentiating between different types of ACS. A high NLR is associated with ACS and increased MACE at 30 days. The NLR also appears to be a good predictor of MACE risk, at least in STEMI patients.

Reduced heart failure-related healthcare costs with Furoscix versus in-hospital intravenous diuresis in heart failure patients: the FREEDOM-HF study.

Aim: Compare heart failure (HF) costs of Furoscix use at home compared with inpatient intravenous (IV) diuresis. Patients & methods: Prospective, case control study of chronic HF patients presenting to emergency department (ED) with worsening congestion discharged to receive Furoscix 80 mg/10 ml 5-h subcutaneous infusion for ≤7 days. 30-day HF-related costs in Furoscix group derived from commercial claims database compared with matched historical patients hospitalized for <72 h. Results: Of 24 Furoscix patients, 1 (4.2%) was hospitalized in 30-day period. 66 control patients identified and were well-matched for age, sex, ejection fraction (EF), renal function and other comorbidities. Furoscix patients had reduced mean per patient HF-related healthcare cost of $16,995 (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Furoscix use was associated with significant reductions in 30-day HF-related healthcare costs versus matched hospitalized controls.

What is this article about? In heart failure (HF), the heart cannot pump as well as it should. This causes blood to back up in the vessels that return blood to the heart. Fluid leaks from these vessels and collects in vital organs such as the lungs. This fluid build-up is called congestion. Congestion causes symptoms such as shortness of breath, tiredness and leg swelling. Furoscix is a prescription medicine, a diuretic, that treats congestion. Diuretics help get rid of extra fluid by increasing urination. Congestion is usually managed with oral diuretics, but sometimes congestion cannot be controlled by oral diuretics and patients may have to spend several days at a clinic or hospital to receive diuretics given through a vein (intravenous or iv.). Furoscix is a new formulation of furosemide, a common diuretic, and is delivered into the skin (subcutaneous) by a self-administered pump instead of through an iv. Our investigation aimed to answer two questions Can Furoscix be given to patients at home instead of in the hospital with iv. diuretics? Is there a cost savings to using Furoscix? Instead of being admitted to the hospital for iv. diuretics, HF patients with worsening congestion who came to the emergency department were sent home to receive Furoscix 80 mg/10 ml 5-h subcutaneous infusion for ≤7 days. 30-day costs related to HF in these patients were compared with costs from similar group of patients previously hospitalized for iv. diuretics. What were the results & what do they mean? In patients who needed to be admitted to the hospital for iv. diuretics, Furoscix given at home instead reduced congestion and resulted in significant cost savings. Patients with heart failure, who are not getting relief with oral diuretics, can be treated with Furoscix at home without having to be admitted to the hospital for iv. diuretics. Use of Furoscix instead of iv. furosemide can save money to the healthcare system.

Impact of diabetes and on-arrival hyperglycemia on short-term outcomes in acute heart failure patients.

The impact of diabetes mellitus (DM) and hyperglycemia on short-term prognosis in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) remains controversial as most data comes from series of hospitalized patients. Our purpose was to analyze outcomes in a nation-wide registry of AHF patients attended in emergency department (ED). ED AHF patients were prospectively enrolled, with the index event and the vulnerable post-discharge phase outcomes recorded. The influence of presenting hyperglycemia (> 180 mg/dL) and DM treatment on prognosis were also investigated. All results were adjusted (a) for baseline characteristics. Of 9192 enrolled AHF patients, 4544 (49,4%) were diabetic, with 24% of diabetics and 25.1% of non-diabetic (p = 0.247) directly discharged from the ED also included. Diabetics had higher rates of comorbidities, but were slightly younger and had lower in-hospital and 30 day all-cause mortality than non-diabetics (a-OR = 0.827, 95% CI = 0.690-0980; and a-HR = 0.850, 95% CI = 0.814-1.071, respectively). Conversely, hyperglycemia on-arrival was associated with increased in-hospital, and 30 day all-cause mortality, in both DM (a-OR = 1.933, 95% CI = 1.378-2.712, and a-HR = 1.590, 95% CI = 1.304-1.938, respectively) and non-DM patients (a-OR = 1.498, 95% CI = 1.175-1.909, and a-HR = 1.719, 95% CI = 1.306-2.264, respectively). However, during the vulnerable phase, diabetics had worse short-term outcomes, with higher rates of ED-revisit and rehospitalization. These worse outcomes seemed to be unrelated to the severity of DM. In patients with AHF attended in ED, diabetes was associated with lower index event case fatality, but higher rates of rehospitalization and re-consultation in the vulnerable post-discharge period. Conversely, hyperglycemia at hospital arrival was strongly associated with early mortality, regardless of diabetes status.

Burden-of-Illness Associated with Bleeding-Related Hospitalizations in Atrial Fibrillation Patients: Findings from the Nationwide Readmission Database.

Introduction A paucity of contemporary data examining bleeding-related hospitalization outcomes in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients exists. Methods Adults in the Nationwide Readmissions Database (January 2016-November 2016) with AF and hospitalized for intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), gastrointestinal, genitourinary, or other bleeding were identified. Association between bleed types and outcomes were assessed using multivariable regression (gastrointestinal defined as referent) and reported as crude incidences and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) or mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results In total, 196,878 index bleeding-related hospitalizations were identified in this AF cohort (CHA2DS2VASc score ≥2 in 95.1%), with 70.8% classified as gastrointestinal. The overall incidences of in-hospital mortality, need for post-discharge out-of-home care, and 30-day readmission were 4.9, 50.8, and 18.2%, respectively. Multivariable regression suggested traumatic and nontraumatic ICHs were associated with higher odds of in-hospital mortality (OR = 3.99, 95% CI = 3.79, 4.19; OR = 13.09, 95% CI = 12.24, 13.99) and need for post-discharge out-of-home care (OR = 2.92, 95% CI = 2.83, 3.01; OR = 2.74, 95% CI = 2.59, 2.90), and increases in mean index hospitalization length-of-stay (8.31 days, 95% CI = 8.03, 8.60, 6.27 days, 95% CI = 5.97, 6.57) versus gastrointestinal bleeding. Genitourinary and other bleeds were associated with lower mortality (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.25, 0.55; OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.53, 0.64) and reduced length-of-stays (-2.84 days, 95% CI = - 2.91, -2.76; -2.06 days, 95% CI = - 2.11, -2.01) versus gastrointestinal bleeding. Genitourinary bleeds were also associated with a reduced need for post-discharge out-of-home care (OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.77, 0.97). Conclusion The burden of bleeding-related hospitalizations was notably driven by relatively rare but severe and life-threatening ICH, and less morbid but more frequent gastrointestinal bleeding. There is need for continued research on bleeding risk factors and mitigation techniques to avoid bleeding-related patient hospitalizations.

Heart failure education in the emergency department markedly reduces readmissions in un- and under-insured patients.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) readmissions are a longstanding national healthcare issue for both hospitals and patients. Our purpose was to evaluate the efficacy of a structured, educational intervention targeted towards un- and under-insured emergency department (ED) HF patients. METHODS: HF patients presenting to the ED for care were enrolled between July and December 2015 as part of an open label, interventional study, using a parallel observational control group. Eligible patients provided informed consent, had an established HF diagnosis, and were hemodynamically stable. Intervention patients received a standardized educational intervention in the ED waiting room before seeing the emergency physician, and a 30-day telephone follow-up. Primary and secondary endpoints were 30- and 90-day ED and hospital readmission rates, as well as days alive and out of hospital (DAOH) respectively. RESULTS: Of the 94 patients enrolled, median age was 58.4 years; 40.4% were female, and 54.3% were African American. Intervention patients (n = 45) experienced a 47.8% and 45.3% decrease in ED revisits (P = 0.02 &P < 0.001), and 60.0% and 47.4% decrease in hospital readmissions (P = 0.049 &P = 0.007) in the 30 and 90 days pre- versus post-intervention respectively. Control patients (n = 49) had no change in hospital readmissions or 30-day ED revisits, but experienced a 36.6% increase in 90-day ED revisits (P = 0.03). Intervention patients also saw a 59.2% improvement in DAOH versus control patients (P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: An ED educational intervention markedly decreases ED and hospital readmissions in un- and under-insured HF patients.

Increased mean aliphatic lipid chain length in left ventricular hypertrophy secondary to arterial hypertension: A cross-sectional study.

About 77.9 million (1 in 4) American adults have high blood pressure. High blood pressure is the primary cause of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which represents a strong predictor of future heart failure and cardiovascular mortality. Previous studies have shown an altered metabolic profile in hypertensive patients with LVH. The goal of this study was to identify blood metabolomic LVH biomarkers by H NMR to provide novel diagnostic tools for rapid LVH detection in populations of hypertensive individuals. This cross-sectional study included 48 hypertensive patients with LVH matched with 48 hypertensive patients with normal LV size, and 24 healthy controls. Two-dimensional targeted M-mode echocardiography was performed to measure left ventricular mass index. Partial least squares discriminant analysis was used for the multivariate analysis of the H NMR spectral data. From the H NMR-based metabolomic profiling, signals coming from methylene (-CH2-) and methyl (-CH3) moieties of aliphatic chains from plasma lipids were identified as discriminant variables. The -CH2-/-CH3 ratio, an indicator of the mean length of the aliphatic lipid chains, was significantly higher (P < 0.001) in the LVH group than in the hypertensive group without LVH and controls. Receiver operating characteristic curve showed that a cutoff of 2.34 provided a 52.08% sensitivity and 85.42% specificity for discriminating LVH (AUC = 0.703, P-value < 0.001). We propose the -CH2-/-CH3 ratio from plasma aliphatic lipid chains as a biomarker for the diagnosis of left ventricular remodeling in hypertension.

Target-specific Oral Anticoagulants in the Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND: Emergency physicians make treatment decisions in patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE). They also encounter patients on target-specific oral anticoagulants (TSOACs) who require urgent intervention. New approvals and increasing prescriptions for TSOACs (e.g., apixaban, dabigatran, edoxaban, and rivaroxaban) for the management of several thromboembolic disorders warrant an evaluation of the impact of these agents in the ED setting. OBJECTIVE OF THE REVIEW: This review discusses the use of TSOACs in the ED for the treatment of acute VTE, and highlights strategies for the management of patients on TSOACs who present to the ED with other complications, such as bleeding complications or requiring emergency surgery. DISCUSSION: Apixaban, dabigatran, edoxaban, and rivaroxaban have been approved for the treatment of acute VTE. We discuss the impact of this on ED management of TSOAC-naïve patients and highlight results with TSOACs in high-risk subgroups including the elderly and those with prior VTE or active cancer. This review also discusses management strategies for patients on TSOACs. For emergency physicians, strategies for the management of bleeding, approaches to patient care when emergency surgery is needed, laboratory assays for measuring plasma concentrations of TSOACs, and drug-drug interactions are of special importance. CONCLUSIONS: Familiarity with TSOACs will better position emergency physicians to provide state-of-the art care to their patients with VTE and help them manage potentially complicated circumstances related to the chronic use of these drugs.

Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (ZS-9) for the treatment of hyperkalemia.

INTRODUCTION: Hyperkalemia is a common, sometimes fatal electrolyte abnormality seen in patients with heart failure (HF) or kidney disease. Acute treatments that cause the intracellular translocation of potassium can be effective in the short-term but they simply buy time until definitive removal by dialysis or binding agents (e.g., sodium polystyrene sulfonate) can occur. In contrast, treatment for chronic hyperkalemia, which often occurs in the setting of HF treated with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone inhibitors (RAASi) or mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA), is limited and has questionable efficacy. AREAS COVERED: Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (ZS-9), a novel, non-absorbed, potassium-selective cation exchanger, has demonstrated activity in acutely lowering and maintaining normal potassium levels. When used chronically, maintenance of normal serum potassium has been demonstrated for up to 1 month. Although higher doses of ZS-9 have been associated with modest increases in the rates of edema and hypokalemia, the overall adverse event rate is similar to placebo. EXPERT OPINION: The efficacy of ZS9 has been shown in patients with chronic hyperkalemia, offering promise for conditions such as HF, where optimized therapy with RAASi and MRA is often limited by a concomitant, drug-induced increase in potassium. Further, in acute hyperkalemia it has potential to become an important option by rapidly lowering potassium levels, thus delaying or potentially averting the need for emergent dialysis. While further randomized trials demonstrating improved clinical outcomes are required for both these indications, initial data suggests a promising role for this agent in the management of both acute and chronic hyperkalemia.

Emergency department patients with acute severe hypertension: a comparison of those admitted versus discharged in studying the treatment of acute hypertension registry.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the characteristics, treatments, and outcomes for emergency department (ED) patients with severe hypertension by disposition (admitted versus discharged home). METHODS: Studying the Treatment of Acute hyperTension (STAT) is a multicenter registry of 1566 patients with blood pressure ≥180/110 mm Hg who were treated with intravenous antihypertensive medications in an ED or intensive care unit. Presenting and in-hospital variables, and postdischarge outcomes for the 1053 patients in the ED subset were compared by disposition. RESULTS: In the multivariable analysis, ED patients were less likely to be discharged if >75 years of age (odds ratio [OR] = 0.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.1-0.9) or if they had shortness of breath (OR = 0.4, 95% CI = 0.2-0.8) or alteration of mental status (OR = 0.1, 95% CI = 0.02-0.9) on arrival. Nondialysis patients with an admission creatinine concentration >1.5 mg/dL were 80% less likely to be discharged than those ≤1.5 mg/dL (OR = 0.2, 95% CI = 0.08-0.5). In the bivariate analysis, patients with a decrease in systolic blood pressure of <10% 2 hours after medication administration were more likely to be admitted than those discharged (57% vs. 44%; P = 0.041). Disposition did not correlate with 90-day or 6-month mortality or 30-day readmission. However, admitted patients had a higher 90-day readmission rate (38% vs. 24%; P = 0.038). CONCLUSIONS: ED patients with severe hypertension were more likely to be admitted to the hospital if they were >75 years of age, presented with shortness of breath or altered mental status, or had a creatinine >1.5 mg/dL and were not on hemodialysis.

Emergency department use of galectin-3.

Emergency medicine represents a unique practice environment where diagnostic accuracy, treatment, and critical disposition decisions must occur in a time-sensitive environment intolerant of both errors and inefficiency. These pressures can make an accurate heart failure diagnosis challenging, as it must be predominately based on clinical findings. Although accuracy is improved by natriuretic peptide testing, at some point in the clinical course a disposition is required regardless of diagnostic certainty. Disposition options range widely from expensive and highly specialized intensive care unit admissions to low-tech/low-cost observation management or even discharge directly to home. In this vein, success is predicated on matching patient needs to available resources while minimizing the untimely discharge that results in a return visit to the emergency room. Thus, the role of the emergency physician is to predict the future based on limited objective data. Biomarkers may aid in this task, and the newly available galectin-3 assay may be of particular utility. Elevated galectin-3, reflective of myocardial fibrosis and inflammation, is associated with increased risk of short-term death and the necessity for 30-day rehospitalization. The availability of accurate risk stratification tools for predicting the probability of rehospitalization or death could guide in the matching of resource-intensive heart failure disease management efforts to the higher risk cohort, while simultaneously identifying lower risk candidates for successful observation unit or outpatient management. This article reviews the potential utility of galectin-3 measurement for use in emergency department decision making.

A 2-hour diagnostic protocol for possible cardiac chest pain in the emergency department: a randomized clinical trial.

IMPORTANCE: Patients with chest pain represent a high health care burden, but it may be possible to identify a patient group with a low short-term risk of adverse cardiac events who are suitable for early discharge. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of a rapid diagnostic pathway with a standard-care diagnostic pathway for the assessment of patients with possible cardiac chest pain in a usual clinical practice setting. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A single-center, randomized parallel-group trial with blinded outcome assessments was conducted in an academic general and tertiary hospital. Participants included adults with acute chest pain consistent with acute coronary syndrome for whom the attending physician planned further observation and troponin testing. Patient recruitment occurred from October 11, 2010, to July 4, 2012, with a 30-day follow-up. INTERVENTIONS: An experimental pathway using an accelerated diagnostic protocol (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction score, 0; electrocardiography; and 0- and 2-hour troponin tests) or a standard-care pathway (troponin test on arrival at hospital, prolonged observation, and a second troponin test 6-12 hours after onset of pain) serving as the control. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Discharge from the hospital within 6 hours without a major adverse cardiac event occurring within 30 days. RESULTS: Fifty-two of 270 patients in the experimental group were successfully discharged within 6 hours compared with 30 of 272 patients in the control group (19.3% vs 11.0%; odds ratio, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.18-3.13; P = .008). It required 20 hours to discharge the same proportion of patients from the control group as achieved in the experimental group within 6 hours. In the experimental group, 35 additional patients (12.9%) were classified as low risk but admitted to an inpatient ward for cardiac investigation. None of the 35 patients received a diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome after inpatient evaluation. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Using the accelerated diagnostic protocol in the experimental pathway almost doubled the proportion of patients with chest pain discharged early. Clinicians could discharge approximately 1 of 5 patients with chest pain to outpatient follow-up monitoring in less than 6 hours. This diagnostic strategy could be easily replicated in other centers because no extra resources are required. TRIAL REGISTRATION: anzctr.org.au Identifier: ACTRN12610000766011.

Body mass index and mortality in acutely decompensated heart failure across the world: a global obesity paradox.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to define the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and mortality in heart failure (HF) across the world and to identify specific groups in whom BMI may differentially mediate risk. BACKGROUND: Obesity is associated with incident HF, but it is paradoxically associated with better prognosis during chronic HF. METHODS: We studied 6,142 patients with acute decompensated HF from 12 prospective observational cohorts followed-up across 4 continents. Primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Cox proportional hazards models and net reclassification index described associations of BMI with all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Normal-weight patients (BMI 18.5 to 25 kg/m(2)) were older with more advanced HF and lower cardiometabolic risk. Despite worldwide heterogeneity in clinical features across obesity categories, a higher BMI remained associated with decreased 30-day and 1-year mortality (11% decrease at 30 days; 9% decrease at 1 year per 5 kg/m(2); p < 0.05), after adjustment for clinical risk. The BMI obtained at index admission provided effective 1-year risk reclassification beyond current markers of clinical risk (net reclassification index 0.119, p < 0.001). Notably, the "protective" association of BMI with mortality was confined to persons with older age (>75 years; hazard ratio [HR]: 0.82; p = 0.006), decreased cardiac function (ejection fraction <50%; HR: 0.85; p < 0.001), no diabetes (HR: 0.86; p < 0.001), and de novo HF (HR: 0.89; p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: A lower BMI is associated with age, disease severity, and a higher risk of death in acute decompensated HF. The "obesity paradox" is confined to older persons, with decreased cardiac function, less cardiometabolic illness, and recent-onset HF, suggesting that aging, HF severity/chronicity, and metabolism may explain the obesity paradox.

Learning from recent trials and shaping the future of acute heart failure trials.

The last decade of acute heart failure (HF) research is characterized by disappointments in large phase 2 and 3 pharmacologic studies of therapeutics including calcium-sensitizing agents and antagonists of endothelin, vasopressin, and adenosine. As a result, pharmacologic management for acute HF has changed little in recent years, and adverse event rates remain higher than in chronic HF. Despite neutral results in many acute HF trials, recent studies including RELAX-AHF, ASTRONAUT, and PRONTO have highlighted the role of appropriate timing of patient enrollment, targeting the "right" patients, and selecting appropriate end points and sites. We describe lessons learned from recent trials in acute HF and outline strategies to improve the potential for success in future trials. This review is based on discussions between scientists, clinical trialists, and regulatory representatives at the 9th Global Cardio Vascular Clinical Trialists Forum in Paris, France, from November 30 to December 1, 2012.

Validation of high-sensitivity troponin I in a 2-hour diagnostic strategy to assess 30-day outcomes in emergency department patients with possible acute coronary syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: The study objective was to validate a new high-sensitivity troponin I (hs-TnI) assay in a clinical protocol for assessing patients who present to the emergency department with chest pain. BACKGROUND: Protocols using sensitive troponin assays can accelerate the rule out of acute myocardial infarction in patients with low-risk (suspected) acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS: This study evaluated 2 prospective cohorts of patients in the emergency department with ACS in an accelerated diagnostic pathway integrating 0- and 2-h hs-TnI results, Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk scores, and electrocardiography. Strategies to identify low-risk patients incorporated TIMI risk scores= 0 or ≤ 1. The primary endpoint was a major adverse cardiac event (MACE) within 30 days. RESULTS: In the primary cohort, 1,635 patients were recruited and had 30-day follow-up. A total of 247 patients (15.1%) had a MACE. The finding of no ischemic electrocardiogram and hs-TnI ≤ 26.2 ng/l with the TIMI = 0 and TIMI ≤ 1 pathways, respectively, classified 19.6% (n = 320) and 41.5% (n = 678) of these patients as low risk; 0% (n = 0) and 0.8% (n = 2) had a MACE, respectively. In the secondary cohort, 909 patients were recruited. A total of 156 patients (17.2%) had a MACE. The TIMI = 0 and TIMI ≤ 1 pathways classified 25.3% (n = 230) and 38.6% (n = 351), respectively, of these patients as low risk; 0% (n = 0) and 0.8% (n = 1) had a MACE, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value for TIMI = 0 in the primary cohort were 100% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 98.5% to 100%), 23.1% (95% CI: 20.9% to 25.3%), and 100% (95% CI: 98.8% to 100%), respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value for TIMI ≤ 1 in the primary cohort were 99.2 (95% CI: 97.1 to 99.8), 48.7 (95% CI: 46.1 to 51.3), and 99.7 (95% CI: 98.9 to 99.9), respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, and negative value for TIMI ≤ 1 in the secondary cohort were 99.4% (95% CI: 96.5 to 100), 46.5% (95% CI: 42.9 to 50.1), and 99.7% (95% CI: 98.4 to 100), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: An early-discharge strategy using an hs-TnI assay and TIMI score ≤ 1 had similar safety as previously reported, with the potential to decrease the observation periods and admissions for approximately 40% of patients with suspected ACS. (Advantageous Predictors of Acute Coronary Syndromes Evaluation [APACE] Study, NCT00470587; A 2 hr Accelerated Diagnostic Protocol to Assess patients with chest Pain symptoms using contemporary Troponins as the only biomarker [ADAPT]: a prospective observational validation study, ACTRN12611001069943).

Early vasoactive drugs improve heart failure outcomes.

Vasoactive therapy is often used to treat acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). The authors sought to determine whether clinical outcomes are temporally associated with time to vasoactive therapy (vasoactive time) in ADHF. Using the Acute Decompensated Heart Failure (ADHERE) Registry, the authors examined the relationship between vasoactive time and inpatient mortality within 48 hours of hospitalization. Vasoactive agents were used early (defined as <6 hours) in 22,788 (63.8%) patients and late in 12,912 (36.2%). Median vasoactive time was 1.7 and 14.7 hours in the early and late groups, respectively. In-hospital mortality was significantly lower in the early group (odds ratio, 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.79-0.96; P=.006), and the adjusted odds of death increased 6.8% for every 6 hours of treatment delay (95% confidence interval, 4.2-9.6; P<.0001). Early vasoactive initiation is associated with improved outcomes in patients hospitalized for ADHF.