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Aims: The psychological outcome of family carers after bereavement is an important issue in evaluating palliative care services. Palliative care services have the potential to provide preventive psychosocial intervention to family carers prior to bereavement, but are faced with the need to identify those who may have greatest risk of adverse outcome. This prospective study examines predictors of psychological outcome for family carers of cancer patients following bereavement based on factors identified at referral to a palliative care agency. Methods: Cancer patients and their family carer were consecutively recruited and assessed on a range of clinical and psychological measures at referral to a palliative home care service in a metropolitan centre (Time 1). Carers were again assessed following the death of the patient, on average at 4 months post‐bereavement (Time 2), using measures of bereavement symptoms and psychological morbidity. Results: 178 carers were assessed on both occasions. The chief predictors of carer psychological symptoms and severity of grief at follow‐up were psychological symptom scores at the time of referral (Time 1). Factors also measured at Time 1 were significant predictors of symptoms and grief scores at Time 2: greater number of adverse life events, carer's coping responses, past bereavement and separation experiences, the relationship with the patient, and greater severity of patient's illness at the time of palliative care referral. Conclusions: The findings indicate clinical risk factors for adverse short‐term bereavement outcome that can be identified in family carers during palliative care treatment, that have implications for identifying the psychological needs of carers, and that form a potential basis for interventions to enhance the psychological outcome for family carers. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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TTC is associated with slowly resolving global myocardial oedema, the acute extent of which correlates with regional contractile disturbance and acute release of both catecholamines and NT-proBNP.

AimDespite prompt revascularization of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), substantial myocardial injury may occur, in part a consequence of ischaemia reperfusion injury (IRI). There has been considerable interest in therapies that may reduce IRI. In experimental models of AMI, sodium nitrite substantially reduces IRI. In this doubleblind randomized placebo controlled parallel-group trial, we investigated the effects of sodium nitrite administered immediately prior to reperfusion in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).Methods and resultsA total of 229 patients presenting with acute STEMI were randomized to receive either an i.v. infusion of 70 μmol sodium nitrite (n = 118) or matching placebo (n = 111) over 5 min immediately before primary percutaneous intervention (PPCI). Patients underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) at 6–8 days and at 6 months and serial blood sampling was performed over 72 h for the measurement of plasma creatine kinase (CK) and Troponin I. Myocardial infarct size (extent of late gadolinium enhancement at 6–8 days by CMR-the primary endpoint) did not differ between nitrite and placebo groups after adjustment for area at risk, diabetes status, and centre (effect size −0.7% 95% CI: −2.2%, +0.7%; P = 0.34). There were no significant differences in any of the secondary endpoints, including plasma troponin I and CK area under the curve, left ventricular volumes (LV), and ejection fraction (EF) measured at 6–8 days and at 6 months and final infarct size (FIS) measured at 6 months.ConclusionsSodium nitrite administered intravenously immediately prior to reperfusion in patients with acute STEMI does not reduce infarct size.

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Background: Takotsubo syndrome is an increasingly recognized cause of chest pain and occasionally of cardiogenic shock. Despite rapid improvement of the Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LV EF), recent registry data raises concerns about long term prognosis. We hypothesized that restoration of normal EF after acute tako-tsubo is not equivalent to full functional recovery. Methods: We prospectively recruited 52 takotsubo patients [according to the Mayo criteria plus cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) to exclude myocardial infarction] and 44 healthy controls of the same age, gender and cardiovascular co-morbidity distribution. We focused the investigation on takotsubo patients presenting with ST-elevation type ECG or malignant arrhythmias and with LV apical ballooning variant and examined a 4 months recovery end-point. Patients underwent Echocardiography assessment of LV myocardial deformation (Global longitudinal, radial and circumferential strain, LV twist, torsion, untwist, time to peak twist and untwist) and assessment of LV myocardial structure by pre and post contrast-enhanced CMR by T1 mapping acutely and at 4 months follow-up. Controls had a single time-point investigation. Data were analyzed using paired or unpaired tests, as appropriate for their distribution and corrected for multiple comparisons. Results: The patients' mean age was 66 years (range 28-87) and 92% were women. All abnormal echocardiographic indices observed acutely in takotsubo patients improved (but not necessarily normalized) at followup. Significant mechano-temporal alterations characterizing both systole (global longitudinal strain, apical circumferential strain, both p<0.01; left ventricular twist, twist rate and torsion, all p<0.0001) and diastole (untwist rate and time to peak untwisting, all p<0.001) persisted at 4 months follow-up when compared with controls, despite normalization of LV ejection fraction and volumes. Whilst native T1 (which demonstrates edema) normalized at 4 months follow-up only in segments contracting normally during the acute phase [T1=1180± 40.6ms (normally contracting, p=0.2 vs control values of 1189±16 ms) and 1208± 60.3 ms (dysfunctional segments, p<0.05 vs control)], the extracellular volume fraction (ECV, which demonstrates diffuse fibrosis) remained significantly abnormal in all LV segments (whether normally contracting, 0.328±0.043, p<0.001 or ballooning during acute presentation, 0.320±0.044, p<0.001, both vs control values of 0.273±0.045). Conclusion: In patients with the most clinically severe spectrum of takotsubo cardiomyopathy, regional LV systolic and diastolic deformation abnormalities persist beyond the acute event, despite normalization of global LV EF and size. In addition, although myocardial edema partly subsides, a process of global microscopic fibrosis develops in its place, detected as early as 4 months.Suggested Reviewers:Opposed Reviewers: 1 24 th March, 2017 Dear Dr Pearlman, Thank you once again for your comments and those of the associate editors. I think it i...

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