ApresentaçãoEsta Diretriz se propõe a levar ao médico que atua na sala de emergência ou em centros de pronto-atendimentos os conceitos mais modernos e cientificamente aceitos e recomendados para o apropriado manejo diagnóstico e terapêutico de pacientes que procuram estes locais devido à dor ou desconforto torácico (ou no peito). As recomendações aqui formuladas se aplicam aos pacientes com dor aguda ou de início recente, de curta ou longa duração, podendo estar a dor presente ou não no momento deste atendimento. As recomendações não se aplicam aos pacientes com dor torácica com duração de alguns dias e que são atendidos em consultório ou ambulatório. Níveis de evidência (para a Recomendação): A) existência de grandes ensaios clínicos randomizados e/ou metanálise convincente; B) existência de estudos clínicos e/ou observacionais bem desenhados e com suficiente número de casos e de desfechos; C) existência de série (s) e/ou relatos de casos; D) existência de publicações de consensos de especialistas e/ou diretrizes societárias. Esta 1) IntroduçãoEstima-se que cinco a oito milhões de indivíduos com dor no peito ou outros sintomas sugestivos de isquemia miocárdica aguda sejam vistos anualmente nas salas de emergência nos Estados Unidos 1,2 . Esse número representa cerca de 5 a 10% de todos os atendimentos emergenciais naquele país 3,4 . Como a maioria desses pacientes são internados para avaliar-se uma possível síndrome coronariana aguda, isto gera um custo médio estimado de 3 a 6 mil dóla-res por paciente 5,6 . Ao final desse processo diagnóstico, cerca de 1,2 milhão de pacientes recebem o diagnóstico de infarto agudo do miocárdio (IAM) e outro tanto de angina instável. Por conseguinte, cerca da metade a 2/3 dos pacientes com dor torácica internados acabam não confirmando uma causa cardíaca para os seus sintomas 2,3 , resultando num gasto desnecessário de 5 a 8 bilhões de dólares por ano nos Estados Unidos 2,7,8 . No nosso País não existem números ou estimativas da quantidade de atendimentos por dor torácica nas salas de emergência. Dados do DATASUS e do Ministério da Saúde indicam a ocorrência de perto de 76.600 mortes por doença isquêmica do coração em 1999 (incluindo 58.000 por infarto agudo do miocárdio) 9 . Nesse ano, o número de internações por infarto agudo do miocárdio na rede pública e conveniada com o SUS (cerca de 6.400 hospitais do total de 7.100 hospitais no País) foi de 37.650, com 6.250 óbitos hospitalares (16,6%) 10 , número de internações 3,5% maior que o valor médio visto no período de 1993-1997 11 .Baseado no número de atendimentos anuais por dor torácica nos EUA e na proporção populacional entre esse país e o Brasil, e assumindo a mesma prevalência de doença coronariana, poderíamos estimar um quantitativo de 4 milhões de atendimentos anuais por dor torácica no Brasil. Como diversos estudos indicam que 5 a 15% dos pacientes atendidos com dor torácica nas salas de emergência norteamericanas têm infarto agudo do miocárdio, o quantitativo de infartos esperado no nosso País seria de aproximadam...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression in patients complaining of chest pain who seek a chest pain unit attendance. INTRODUCTION: Patients arriving at a Chest Pain Unit may present psychiatric disorders not identified, isolated or co-morbid to the main illness, which may interfere in the patient prognosis. METHODOLOGY: Patients were assessed by the "Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale" as a screening instrument wile following a systematized protocol to rule out the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome and other potentially fatal diseases. Patients with 8 or more points in the scale were considered "probable case" of anxiety or depression. RESULTS: According to the protocol, 59 (45.4%) of 130 patients studied presented Chest Pain of Determined Cause, and 71 (54.6%) presented Chest Pain of Indefinite Cause. In the former group, in which 43 (33.1%) had acute coronary syndrome, 33.9% were probable anxiety cases and 30.5% depression cases. In the second group, formed by patients without acute coronary syndrome or any clinical conditions involving greater morbidity and mortality risk, 53.5% were probable anxiety cases and 25.4% depression. CONCLUSION: The high anxiety and depression prevalence observed may indicate the need for early and specialized approach to these disorders. When coronary arterial disease is present, this may decrease complications and shorten hospital stay. When psychiatric disorder appears isolated, is possible to reduce unnecessary repeated visits to emergency room and increase patient's quality of life

No abstract

Background Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Brazil, where there are significant imbalances in access to specialized stroke care. Telemedicine networks allow patients to receive neurological evaluation and intravenous thrombolysis in underserved areas, where performance measures are challenging. Aims To describe the impact caused by adequate stroke care training, using realistic simulation, in a developing country telestroke network. Methods Retrospective observational study comparing the number of all stroke diagnoses, thrombolysis rate, door-to-needle time and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage after intravenous thrombolysis, during one year providing just algorithms and orientation in stroke care to spoke facilities (phase 1), with the results achieved along one year after the beginning of ongoing live training sessions (phase 2). Results The mean number of patients diagnosed with stroke increased from 7.5 to 16.58 per month ( P = 0.019) rising from 90 patients during phase 1 to 199 in phase 2. There was a reduction in the mean door-to-needle time from 137.1 to 95.5 min (-41.58; 95% CI -62.77 to -20.40). The thrombolysis and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage rates had a non-significant decrease from 21.31% to 18.18% (OR 0.82; 95% CI 0.39 to 1.71) and 12.5% to 7.69% (OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.046 to 7.425), respectively. Conclusions Realistic simulation stroke care training provided by stroke centers to spoke facilities seems to significantly reduce door-to-needle time and enhance adherence in a telestroke network.

In hemodynamically stable patients with pulmonary embolism, age > 65 years, bed rest > 72h, chronic cor pulmonale, sinus tachycardia and tachypnea were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. However, further validation of the prediction model in other populations is required so that it can be incorporated into the clinical practice.

No abstract

Objective -

BackgroundRecent studies have suggested that B-type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) is an important predictor of ischemia and death in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome. Increased levels of BNP are seen after episodes of myocardial ischemia and may be related to future adverse events.ObjectivesTo determine the prognostic value of BNP for major cardiac events and to evaluate its association with ischemic myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS).MethodsThis study included retrospectively 125 patients admitted to the chest pain unit between 2002 and 2006, who had their BNP levels measured on admission and underwent CPM for risk stratification. BNP values were compared with the results of the MPS. The chi-square test was used for qualitative variables and the Student t test, for quantitative variables. Survival curves were adjusted using the Kaplan-Meier method and analyzed by using Cox regression. The significance level was 5%.ResultsThe mean age was 63.9 ± 13.8 years, and the male sex represented 51.2% of the sample. Ischemia was found in 44% of the MPS. The mean BNP level was higher in patients with ischemia compared to patients with non-ischemic MPS (188.3 ± 208.7 versus 131.8 ± 88.6; p = 0.003). A BNP level greater than 80 pg/mL was the strongest predictor of ischemia on MPS (sensitivity = 60%, specificity = 70%, accuracy = 66%, PPV = 61%, NPV = 70%), and could predict medium-term mortality (RR = 7.29, 95% CI: 0.90-58.6; p = 0.045) independently of the presence of ischemia.ConclusionsBNP levels are associated with ischemic MPS findings and adverse prognosis in patients presenting with acute chest pain to the emergency room, thus, providing important prognostic information for an unfavorable clinical outcome.