Physician board certification and the care and outcomes of elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND: Patients and purchasers prefer board-certified physicians, but whether these physicians provide better quality of care and outcomes for hospitalized patients is unclear. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated whether care by board-certified physicians after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was associated with higher use of clinical guideline recommended therapies and lower 30-day mortality. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We examined 101,251 Medicare patients hospitalized for AMI in the United States and compared use of aspirin, beta-blockers, and 30-day mortality according to the attending physicians' board certification in family practice, internal medicine, or cardiology. RESULTS: Board-certified family practitioners had slightly higher use of aspirin (admission: 51.1% vs 46.0%; discharge: 72.2% vs 63.9%) and beta-blockers (admission: 44.1% vs 37.1%; discharge: 46.2% vs 38.7%) than nonboard-certified family practitioners. There was a similar pattern in board-certified Internists for aspirin (admission: 53.7% vs 49.6%; discharge: 78.2% vs 68.8%) and beta-blockers (admission: 48.9% vs 44.1%; discharge: 51.2% vs 47.1). Board-certified cardiologists had higher use of aspirin compared with cardiologists certified in internal medicine only or without any board certification (admission: 61.3% vs 53.1% vs 52.1%; discharge: 82.2% vs 71.8% vs 71.5%) and beta-blockers (admission: 52.9% vs 49.6% vs 41.5%; discharge: 54.7% vs 50.6% vs 42.5%). In multivariate regression analyses, board certification was not associated with differences in 30-day mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment by a board-certified physician was associated with modestly higher quality of care for AMI, but not differences in mortality. Regardless of board certification, all physicians had opportunities to improve quality of care for AMI.     

Length of hospital stay after acute myocardial infarction

Abstract A number of trials show that long stay in hospital after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is not necessary for many patients and that stays of three-ten days may be adequate. All patients aged under 70 years with a diagnosis of AMI admitted to the seven public hospitals in the Lower Hunter Region of New South Wales are monitored as part of the WHO MONICA Study. Between August 1984 and December 1985 of 438 hospitalised patients with a ‘definite’ AMI according to MONICA criteria and a clinical discharge diagnosis of AMI, 386 (88%) patients were discharged alive from hospital. Four patients had lengths of stay between 46 and 77 days and have been omitted from further analysis. The mean length of hospital stay was 13.6 days (95% confidence intervals 12.9 to 14.3 days); 74% of all patients stayed in hospital for more than ten days. The mean length of stay in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) was 4.5 days (95% confidence intervals 4.2 to 4.8 days) with 60% staying longer than three days. Mean hospital stay varied from 10.5 to 17.4 days among the seven hospitals, although most of this variation was accounted for by three hospitals with few patients. Restricting analysis to the four hospitals with 90% of all the patients, multiple regression analysis showed that the CK enzyme levels, the evolution of Q waves on ECG, the presence of an anterior AMI and the use of nitrates and digoxin during hospitalisation were all associated with increased length of stay in hospital. Nevertheless the proportion of the variance in length of stay explained by all the statistically significant variables together was only 17%. We conclude that, at the time of this study, length of stay in hospital following AMI was longer than necessary. Patient characteristics and severity of infarction explain little of the variability. This suggests that length of hospital stay could be reduced without adverse effects for the patients.     

心率水平对急性心肌梗死患者长期预后的影响

目的:观察急性心肌梗死(AMI)患者出院时心率水平与预后的关系。方法:连续入选2003年至2004年我院AMI患者904例,随访728例,根据出院时心率水平分为55～70次/min(A组)、71～80次/min(B组)、81～90次/min(C组)及>90次/min(D组)4组,随访4.5年。结果:1.随出院时心率水平的增加,3～4年时左心室射血分数(LVEF)明显降低,D组及C组因心力衰竭再次心肌梗死,心绞痛再住院率及1年、2年及3年病死率显著高于A组与B组,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。2.多因素分析结果显示出院时心率水平是随访期间再住院率及病死率的独立影响因素(OR=1.645,95%CI:1.390～3.018,P=0.005)。结论:过快的心率是AMI患者死亡及再住院的强预测因子,对AMI患者应严格控制心率,从而改善预后。     

老年急性心肌梗死住院期康复

目的:探讨老年急性心肌梗死(AMI)患者住院期康复治疗的疗效、安全性。方法:比较20例接受四周程序康复治疗的老年AMI患者和19例对照患者的临床疗效、安全性。结果:20例老年AMI患者康复治疗未发生并发症;出院3个月后能生活自理的有18例(90％),左室射血分数(LVEF)>50％的患者13例(65％),未发生心绞痛和再梗。对照组发生心绞痛3例,再梗死1例,心衰2例,心源性猝死1例;出院3个月后能生活自理的仅12例(63％),LVEF>50％的患者仅6例(32％)。康复组的临床疗效及心功能(LVEF)均显著好于对照组(P<0.05)。结论:老年急性心肌梗死康复治疗是安全、有效、可行的。     

基层医院尿激酶静脉溶栓治疗急性心肌梗死128例临床观察

目的探讨基层医院早期尿激酶静脉溶栓治疗急性心肌梗死的临床效果。方法回顾性分析128例以尿激酶静脉溶栓治疗的急性心肌梗死患者的临床资料,根据发病时间将患者分为3组（〈3h组,3～6h组及6～12h组）,比较3组经溶栓治疗后的再通率。结果 128例急性心肌梗死患者接受溶栓治疗,总再通率71.09%,无死亡患者。〈3h组再通率显著高于3～6h组[93.33%（28/30）vs.68.49%（50/73）,P〈0.05]及6～12h组[93.33%（28/30）vs.52.00%（13/25）,P〈0.05],差异有统计学意义。溶栓后2h内出现心律失常30例（23.43%）,溶栓24h出现上消化道出血2例（1.56%）,低血压2例（1.56%）,急性左心衰6例（4.68%）,经对症治疗未造成严重后果。结论尿激酶早期溶栓治疗急性心肌梗死患者能有效地挽救濒死心肌,改善患者的预后,是一种有效治疗方法。     

Suspect myocardial infarction: hospital management and prognosis

The management of 442 consecutive patients admitted for suspect acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was compared at two urban hospitals. The community hospital utilized an unmonitored observation unit (OU) more frequently than did the university hospital (39% vs. 9%, respectively). Progression to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) occurred in 25% of admissions, 5-7% of whom died. Mortality without AMI was rare. Availability of the OU appeared to result in reduced coronary care unit (CCU) utilization and in shorter hospital stays for low-risk patients who comprised fully 37% of hospital admissions. Low- and high-risk subgroups (12% vs. 34% risk of AMI) were identified by normal versus abnormal admission electrocardiograms (EKG). Two-thirds of the low-risk patients with AMI were diagnosed by the next hospital day. A normal EKG on both the day of admission and on the second hospital day identified a population with less than 1% risk of in-hospital AMI. The increased use of non-CCU facilities for many ?MI patients appears to be appropriate. However, only randomized allocation trials, which were never performed for patients with definite AMI, would establish the relative efficacy of CCU versus non-CCU treatment.     

The impact of metabolic syndrome and hypertension on medical costs of patients with acute myocardial infarction at hospital

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to find out the impact of metabolic syndrome (MS) and hypertension on medical costs of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) at hospital. Methods: Patients with AMI at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University during January 2011 to May 2013 were separated into four groups according to whether with MS or history of hypertension. Comparison of medical costs, complication rate and cost-effectiveness ratio were analyzed. Results: We found that total costs, each day costs, medical treatment costs, chemical examination costs and drug costs were significantly different in four groups. In variance analysis, MS led to high medical costs without significance. Hypertension was a significant factor influencing medical costs and lead to low medical costs. In multiple linear regression, we found that body mass index (BMI) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were important predictors of total costs and each day costs. With higher BMI and utilization rate of PCI, medical costs were increased. Trend of total costs in four groups is similar to that of the rate of PCI utilization. Conclusions: Metabolic syndrome has no impact on medical costs because of discordance in MS components. Hypertension will lead to lower PCI utilization rate, which results in less medical costs and bad hospital outcomes.     

Results of primary percutaneous coronary intervention in a consecutive group of patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction at a tertiary Australian centre

Background: Multicentre randomized controlled trials (RCT) of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) have consistently shown lower mortality compared with fibrinolysis, if carried out in a timely manner. Although primary PCI is now standard of care in many centres, it remains unknown whether results from RCT of selected patients are generalizable to a ‘real‐world’ Australian setting. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate whether a strategy of routine invasive management for patients with STEMI can achieve 30‐day and 12‐month mortality rates comparable with multicentre RCT. Secondary goals were to determine 30‐day mortality rates in prespecified high‐risk subgroups, and symptom‐onset‐ and door‐to‐balloon‐inflation times. Methods: A retrospective observational study of 189 consecutive patients treated with primary PCI for STEMI in a single Australian centre performing PCI for acute STEMI. Results: All‐cause mortality was 6.9% at 30 days, and 10.4% at 12 months. Mortality in patients presenting without cardiogenic shock was low (2.4% at 30 days; 5.0% at 12 months), whereas 12‐month mortality in patients with shock was higher, particularly in the elderly (29.4% for patients <75 years; 85.7% for patients ≥75 years, P = 0.01). Symptom‐onset‐to‐balloon‐inflation time was ≤4 h in 56% of patients (median 231 min); however, a door‐to‐balloon time of <90 min was achieved in only 20% (median 133 min). Conclusion: Mortality and symptom‐onset‐to‐balloon‐inflation times reported in RCT of primary PCI for STEMI are generalizable to ‘real‐world’ Australian practice; however, further efforts to reduce door‐to‐balloon times are required.     

急性心肌梗死患者合并心脏破裂的分析

目的:观察急性心肌梗死(AMI)患者发生心脏破裂的特点。方法:连续入选2004年1月至2006年2月收入我院心内科监护室(CCU)确诊为AMI患者共1324例,经超声心动图证实心脏破裂18例。结果:前壁梗死509例,下壁梗死528例,非ST段抬高心肌梗死287例。发生心脏破裂18例(1.36%),其中游离壁破裂9例,室间隔穿孔9例。13例发病72h内破裂,5例在发病4～7d破裂。男性8例(8/973,0.82%),女性10例(10/351,2.85%),女性明显高于男性(P=0.005)。发生心脏破裂患者年龄[(72.6±8.2)岁]明显高于无破裂者[(63.3±12.2)岁,P=0.000]。成功再灌注治疗者心脏破裂发生率(5/575,0.87%)明显少于无再灌注者(13/749,1.74%,P=0.041)。所有合并心脏破裂者全部死亡。前壁梗死合并心脏破裂的发生明显多于下壁和非ST段抬高心肌梗死(2.16%,1.32%,0%,P=0.041)。结论:AMI合并心脏破裂的发生率为1.36%,其预后极差。女性、高龄、前壁梗死患者易于发生心脏破裂。成功再灌注治疗减少心脏破裂的发生。     

Viral and bacterial infections in patients with acute myocardial infarction

The association of both viral and bacterial infections with acute myocardial infarction was investigated in a case-control study involving 40 consecutive patients with an acute myocardial infarction, 41 random controls and 30 patients with chronic coronary heart disease. All individuals were males aged 50 years or less. A rise in enterobacterial common antigen antibodies (15/40) and a recent influenza-like illness (11/40) were significantly more common among patients with acute myocardial infarction compared with the other groups. No differences were observed between the groups in the occurrence of antibodies against eight other bacterial antigens or 16 viruses.     

急性下壁梗死伴或不伴右心室心肌梗死患者临床特征的比较

目的：比较急性下壁心肌梗死（IWMI）伴或不伴右心室心肌梗死（RVMI）患者的临床特征差异。方法纳入2006年10月~2012年12月总参保健处发病12 h内入院的急性下壁心肌梗死（IWMI）患者256例,根据冠状动脉造影（CAG）结果将患者分为IWMI不合并RVMI组（n=167）和IWMI合并RVMI组（n=89）,比较两组患者冠心病发病主要危险因素（包括吸烟、高血压、糖尿病、高脂血症、冠心病家族史）、临床表现、并发症和治疗用药的差异。结果两组患者冠心病主要危险因素无差异（P＞0.05）。IWMI合并RVMI患者出现低血压（80.0% vs.19.8%,P＜0.05）、颈静脉怒张（50.6%vs.1.8%）和Kussmaul征（51.7%vs.1.2%）的比例明显增加（P均＜0.01）,需要更多地应用正性肌力药物（60.7%vs.16.2%）来维持血压,且病死率较高（77.9%vs.0.6%,P＜0.05）。结论在IWMI基础上伴RVMI多合并右心功能障碍,可导致预后不良。     

急性心肌梗死康复治疗的研究

目的:探讨康复治疗对急性心肌梗死（AMI）患者运动贮量,生活、工作能力的影响。方法:对13例AMI患者进行住院期（第一期）和院外恢复期（第二期）的康复治疗,时间3个月;与只做传统治疗的12例对照组患者进行第二期的生活、工作峰值耗氧量（代表运动贮量）,运动试验参数做对比。结果:（1）康复组13例患者康复治疗前活动平板运动试验阳性4例,康复治疗后阳性减少2例;运动时间康复前为587±257秒,康复后增至1027±308秒,有显著差异（P<0.001）,康复后心率、收缩压恢复时间较康复前明显缩短（P<0.05）;（2）康复组第二期的生活、工作峰值耗氧量（METs）较对照组显著增加（P<0.05）.结论:康复治疗可改善AMI患者的生活质量,增强其工作能力,收到重大的社会、经济效益。     

Simultaneous control of intermediate diabetes outcomes among veterans affairs primary care patients

BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend tight control of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and blood pressure (BP) for patients with diabetes. The degree to which these intermediate outcomes are simultaneously controlled has not been extensively described. OBJECTIVE: Describe the degree of simultaneous control of HbA1c, LDL-C, and BP among Veterans Affairs (VA) diabetes patients defined by both VA and American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines. DESIGN: Cross-sectional cohort. PATIENTS: Eighty-thousand two hundred and seven VA diabetes patients receiving care between October 1999 and September 2000. MEASURMENTS: We defined simultaneous control of outcomes using 1997 VA Guidelines (in place in 2000) (HbA1c < 9.0%; LDL-C < 130 mg/dL; systolic BP < 140 mmHg; and diastolic BP < 90 mmHg) and 2004 ADA guidelines (HbA1c < 7.0%; LDL-C < 100 mg/dL; systolic BP < 130 mmHg; and diastolic BP < 80 mmHg). A patient is considered to have simultaneous control of the intermediate outcomes for a given definition if the average of measurements for each outcome was below the defined threshold during the study period. RESULTS: Using VA guidelines, 31% of patients had simultaneous control. Control levels of individual outcomes were: HbA1c (82%), LDL-C (77%), and BP (48%). Using ADA guidelines, 4% had simultaneous control. Control levels of individual outcomes were: HbA1c (36%), LDL-C (41%), and BP (23%). Associations between individual risk factors were weak. There was a modest association between LDL-C control and control of HbA1c (odds ratio [OR] 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.44, 1.58). The association between LDL-C and BP control was clinically small (1.26; 1.21, 1.31), and there was an extremely small association between BP and HbA1c control (0.95; 0.92, 0.99). Logistic regression modeling indicates greater body mass index, African American or Hispanic race-ethnicity, and female gender were negatively associated with simultaneous control. CONCLUSION: While the proportion of patients who achieved minimal levels of control of HbA1c and LDL-C was high, these data indicate a low level of simultaneous control of HbA1c, LDL-C, and BP among patients with diabetes.     

心肌梗死急性期合并恶性室性心律失常患者的院内死亡危险因素资料分析

目的：探讨心肌梗死急性期合并恶性室性心律失常患者的院内死亡危险因素。方法：选取我院2012年6月到2014年12月期间,收治的172例心肌梗死急性期合并恶性室性心律失常患者作为研究对象,按照患者的最后治疗结果分为两组,存活出院的患者设为A组,院内死亡的患者设为B组,观察两组基线对比情况。结果：存活出院的A组患者比院内死亡的B组患者,男性占比高,年龄更小,心功能状况较好,有合并糖尿病和心绞痛病的患者占比更少,急性心肌梗死发作距离恶性室性心律失常间隔时间短,肌酐平均水平和血清钾平均水平更低,P＜0.05,具有统计学意义;在体表心电图中J波的检出率中,A组患者比B组患者更低,差异具有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。通过Logistic回归分析显示,NYHA高于I级（危险比：5.66;95%,Cl：1.45~22.02;P＜0.05）,心电图存在J波（危险比：4.36;95%,Cl：1.84~10.46;P＜0.05）,急性心肌梗死发作距恶性室性心律失常间隔时间超过24h（1~13天危险比：3.01;95%Cl：0.28~6.94;P＜0.05。14~30天危险比：3.40;95%Cl：1.41~8.30;P＜0.05）血清肌酐水平高于正常（危险比：5.25;95%Cl：2.11~13.15;P＜0.05）。结论：在心肌梗死急性期合并恶性室性心律失常患者的临床治疗中,患者的心功能级别,合并症,心电图J波的存在,以及急性心肌梗死发作距恶性室性心律失常间隔时间是否超过24h,血清肌酐水平高于正常等,是决定其存活出院和院内死亡的相关危险因素。     

Effects of end-of-month admission on length of stay and quality of care among inpatients with myocardial infarction

PURPOSE: We studied whether transfer of care when house staff and faculty switch services affects length of stay or quality of care among hospitalized patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis in 976 consecutive patients admitted with myocardial infarction from 1995 to 1998. Patients who were admitted within 3 days of change in staff were denoted end-of-month patients. RESULTS: Of 782 eligible patients, 690 (88%) were admitted midmonth and 92 (12%) at the end of the month. The median length of stay was 7 days for midmonth and 8 days for end-of-month patients (P = 0.06). End-of-month admission was an independent predictor of length of stay in multivariate models. In addition, a significant difference in length of stay was noted between patients admitted at the beginning and end of the academic year. There were no statistically significant differences in the use of aspirin, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, or lipid-lowering agents at discharge between midmonth and end-of-month patients. Mortality and in-hospital adverse events did not differ between the two groups, with the possible exception of a greater incidence of acute renal failure in the end-of-month patients. CONCLUSIONS: Although admission during the last 3 days of the month is an independent predictor of length of stay, it does not have a large effect on quality of care among patients with myocardial infarction.     

急性心肌梗死面积,QRS积分与临床预后的关系

为探讨急性心肌梗死面积、QRS积分与临床预后的关系 ,采用Michelle等公式及WagnerQRS评分标准 ,观察113例急性心肌梗死患者。结果显示急性前壁心肌梗死死亡组心肌梗死面积 (22.14±6.26)、QRS积分(7.28±3.74)均较存活组显著增大 (17.83±5.65、4.91±2.63,P<0.05) ,存活组QRS积分与梗死面积的回归方程为 :QRS积分=2.59 0.13×梗死面积 ,但急性下壁心肌梗死死亡组与存活组这两项指标差异无显著意义 (P>0.05)。提示利用入院时12导联心电图测算心肌梗死面积 ,对判断急性前壁心肌梗死临床预后有重要意义 ,但对急性下壁心肌梗死无意义。     

青年急性心肌梗死诊治(附26例报告)

目的 探讨青年（年龄≤40岁）急性心肌梗死的病因、临床特点及治疗方法.方法 对26例青年急性心肌梗死患者临床资料进行回顾性分析.结果 26例青年急性心肌梗死首发症状多样化,经积极治疗,痊愈或好转24例,死亡2例.结论 多种因素可诱发青年心肌梗死.临床医师应重视青年急性心肌梗死的诊治及健康教育,做到防治结合,从而达到降低青年急性心肌梗死死亡率的目的.