All patients with chest pain who have an initial hs-cTnT level of <5 ng/l and no signs of ischemia on an ECG have a minimal risk of MI or death within 30 days, and can be safely discharged directly from the ED.

NCT02276950.

IMPORTANCE Following animal model data indicating the possible rejuvenating effects of blood from young donors, there have been at least 2 observational studies conducted with humans that have investigated whether donor age affects patient outcomes. Results, however, have been conflicting.OBJECTIVE To study the association of donor age and sex with survival of patients receiving transfusions. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSA retrospective cohort study based on the Scandinavian Donations and Transfusions database, with nationwide data, was conducted for all patients from Sweden and Denmark who received at least 1 red blood cell transfusion of autologous blood or blood from unknown donors between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2012. Patients were followed up from the first transfusion until death, emigration, or end of follow-up. Data analysis was performed from September 15 to November 15, 2016.EXPOSURES The number of transfusions from blood donors of different age and sex. Exposure was treated time dependently throughout follow-up. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESHazard ratios (HRs) for death and adjusted cumulative mortality differences, both estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTSResults of a crude analysis including 968 264 transfusion recipients (550 257 women and 418 007 men; median age at first transfusion, 73.0 years [interquartile range, 59.8-82.4 years]) showed a U-shaped association between age of the blood donor and recipient mortality, with a nadir in recipients for the most common donor age group (40-49 years) and significant and increasing HRs among recipients of blood from donors of successively more extreme age groups (<20 years: HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.10-1.14; Ն70 years: HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.08-1.44). Higher mortality was also noted among recipients of blood from female donors (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.07-1.07). Adjustments for number of transfusions with a linear term attenuated the associations, but the increased mortality for recipients of blood from young, old, and female donors was not eliminated. Closer examination of the association between number of transfusions and mortality revealed a nonlinear pattern. After adjustments to accommodate nonlinearity, donor age and sex were no longer associated with patient mortality.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Donor age and sex were not associated with patient survival and need not be considered in blood allocation. Any comparison between common and less common categories of transfusions will inevitably be confounded by the number of transfusions, which drives the probability of receiving the less common blood components. Previous positive findings regarding donor age and sex are most likely explained by residual confounding.

The aim of this study is to identify potential facilitators and barriers for health care professionals to undertake selective prevention of cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) in primary health care. We developed a search string for Medline, Embase, Cinahl and PubMed. We also screened reference lists of relevant articles to retain barriers and facilitators for prevention of CMD. We found 19 qualitative studies, 7 quantitative studies and 2 mixed qualitative and quantitative studies. In terms of five overarching categories, the most frequently reported barriers and facilitators were as follows: Structural (barriers: time restraints, ineffective counselling and interventions, insufficient reimbursement and problems with guidelines; facilitators: feasible and effective counselling and interventions, sufficient assistance and support, adequate referral, and identification of obstacles), Organizational (barriers: general organizational problems, role of practice, insufficient IT support, communication problems within health teams and lack of support services, role of staff, lack of suitable appointment times; facilitators: structured practice, IT support, flexibility of counselling, sufficient logistic/practical support and cooperation with allied health staff/community resources, responsibility to offer and importance of prevention), Professional (barriers: insufficient counselling skills, lack of knowledge and of experience; facilitators: sufficient training, effective in motivating patients), Patient-related factors (barriers: low adherence, causes problems for patients; facilitators: strong GP-patient relationship, appreciation from patients), and Attitudinal (barriers: negative attitudes to prevention; facilitators: positive attitudes of importance of prevention). We identified several frequently reported barriers and facilitators for prevention of CMD, which may be used in designing future implementation and intervention studies.

BackgroundHealth checks for cardiometabolic diseases could play a role in the identification of persons at high risk for disease. To improve the uptake of these health checks in primary care, we need to know what barriers and facilitators determine participation.MethodsWe used an iterative search strategy consisting of three steps: (a) identification of key-articles; (b) systematic literature search in PubMed, Medline and Embase based on keywords; (c) screening of titles and abstracts and subsequently full-text screening. We summarised the results into four categories: characteristics, attitudes, practical reasons and healthcare provider-related factors.ResultsThirty-nine studies were included. Attitudes such as wanting to know of cardiometabolic disease risk, feeling responsible for, and concerns about one’s own health were facilitators for participation. Younger age, smoking, low education and attitudes such as not wanting to be, or being, worried about the outcome, low perceived severity or susceptibility, and negative attitude towards health checks or prevention in general were barriers. Furthermore, practical issues such as information and the ease of access to appointments could influence participation.ConclusionBarriers and facilitators to participation in health checks for cardiometabolic diseases were heterogeneous. Hence, it is not possible to develop a ‘one size fits all’ approach to maximise the uptake. For optimal implementation we suggest a multifactorial approach adapted to the national context with special attention to people who might be more difficult to reach. Increasing the uptake of health checks could contribute to identifying the people at risk to be able to start preventive interventions.

Background-Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and is associated with adverse outcomes. However, the relationship between AKI after CABG and the long-term risk of endstage renal disease (ESRD) is unknown. Methods and Results-This study included 29 330 patients who underwent primary isolated CABG in Sweden between2000 and 2008. AKI was classified according to the Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) classification: stage 1, >0.3 mg/dL (>26 μmol/L) or 50% to 100% increase; stage 2, 100% to 200% increase; and stage 3, >200% increase from the preoperative to postoperative serum creatinine level. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals for ESRD in AKIN stage 1 and stage 2 to 3. Postoperative AKI occurred in 13% of patients. During a mean follow-up of 4.3±2.4 years, 123 patients (0.4%) developed ESRD, including 50 (1.6%) in AKIN stage 1, 29 (5.2%) in AKIN stage 2 to 3, and 44 (0.2%) without AKI after CABG. After multivariable adjustment, the hazard ratio for ESRD was 2.92 (95% confidence interval, 1.87-4.55) for AKIN stage 1 and 3.81 (95% confidence interval, 2.14-6.79) for AKIN stage 2 to 3. Conclusions-This nationwide study of patients who underwent CABG found that a small increase in the postoperative serum creatinine level was associated with an almost 3-fold increase in the long-term risk of ESRD after adjustment for a number of confounders, including preoperative renal function. According to Recommended Therapies (SWEDEHEART) registry. 15This registry includes all patients who have undergone coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention, or cardiac surgery in Sweden since 1992, with complete coverage of the whole country. Agreement between information in the registry and the medical records was reported to be between 93% and 97%. 15 The present study included all patients who underwent CABG in Sweden between 2000 and 2008. The exclusion criteria are shown in Figure 1. Patients were excluded if they had undergone prior cardiac surgery, had undergone vascular or valvular surgery concurrently with CABG, had missing preoperative or postoperative s-Cr levels, had undergone surgery within 24 hours of the decision to operate, had a preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of <15 mL·min, or were dialysis dependent before surgery. Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hyperlipidemia were recorded if patients were receiving ongoing pharmacological treatment for these conditions.Patients were usually reviewed by a cardiologist a few weeks after surgery and then followed up by their family doctor.The study complied with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the regional ethics review board in Stockholm. The postoperative s-Cr level recorded in the SWEDEHEART registry is the highest level measured during the postoperative hospital stay. In a subgroup of 483 patients who underwent CABG at 1 center (Karolinsk...

There is a strong association between eGDR and all-cause mortality, as well as cardiovascular mortality, in individuals with T1D. Our findings may guide preventive measures by improving risk assessment in individuals with T1D.

Background: Kidney dysfunction is a strong determinant of prognosis in many settings. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was undertaken to explore the relationship between estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and adverse outcomes after surgery. Cohort studies reporting the relationship between eGFR and major outcomes, including all-cause mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events, and acute kidney injury after cardiac or noncardiac surgery, were included. Results: Forty-six studies were included, of which 44 focused exclusively on cardiac and vascular surgery. Within 30 days of surgery, eGFR less than 60 ml·min·1.73 m −2 was This article has been selected for the ANESTHESIOLOGY CME Program. Learning objectives and disclosure and ordering information can be found in the CME section at the front of this issue. ABSTRACTThe use of ultrasound guidance has provided an opportunity to perform many peripheral nerve blocks that would have been difficult to perform in children based on pure landmark techniques due to the potential for injection into contiguous sensitive vascular areas. This review article provides the readers with techniques on ultrasoundguided peripheral nerve blocks of the extremities and trunk with currently available literature to substantiate the available evidence for the use of these techniques. Ultrasound images of the blocks with corresponding line diagrams to demonstrate the placement of the ultrasound probe have been provided for all the relevant nerve blocks in children. The authors hope that this review will stimulate further research into ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia in infants, children, and adolescents and stimulate more randomized controlled trials to provide a greater understanding of the anatomy and physiology of regional anesthesia in pediatrics.