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Cardiogenic shock (CS) complicating acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Our study aimed to gain insights into patient characteristics, outcomes and treatment strategies in CS patients. Patients with CS who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) between 2017 and 2021 were identified in a nationwide registry. Data on medical history, laboratory values, angiographic features and outcomes were retrospectively assessed. A total of 2328 patients with a mean age of 66 years and of whom 73% were male, were included. Mortality at 30 days was 39% for the entire cohort. Non-survivors presented with a lower mean blood pressure and increased heart rate, blood lactate and blood glucose levels (p-value for all <0.001). Also, an increased prevalence of diabetes, multivessel coronary artery disease and a prior coronary event were found. Of all patients, 24% received mechanical circulatory support, of which the majority was via intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs). Furthermore, 79% of patients were treated with at least one vasoactive agent, and multivessel PCI was performed in 28%. In conclusion, a large set of hemodynamic, biochemical and patient-related characteristics was identified to be associated with mortality. Interestingly, multivessel PCI and IABPs were frequently applied despite a lack of evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is uncertainty whether multivessel (MV-PCI) or culprit-only percutaneous coronary intervention (CO-PCI) should be the treatment of choice in patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) and multivessel disease (MVD). Aims: To evaluate clinical characteristics and outcomes in these patients undergoing MV-PCI or CO-PCI at the index procedure. Methods: Data were retrieved from the nationwide Netherlands Heart Registration. All NSTE-ACS patients with MVD undergoing PCI between 1 January 2017 and 1 October 2019 were grouped into a MV-PCI or CO-PCI group. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality at long-term follow-up (median 756 days (593–996)). Secondary endpoints were reinterventions, urgent CABG, myocardial infarction (MI) < 30 days, target vessel revascularisation (TVR) and mortality at 1 year. Propensity score matching analyses were performed. Results: In total, 10,507 NSTE-ACS patients with MVD were included into the MV-PCI (N = 4235) and CO-PCI group (N = 6272). Analysing crude data, mortality rates at long-term follow-up (10.7% vs. 10.2%; p = 0.383), mortality at 1 year (6.0% vs. 5.6%; p = 0.412) and MI <30 days (0.8% vs. 0.9%; p = 0.513) were similar between both groups. Reinterventions (11.1% vs. 20.0%; p < 0.001), urgent CABG (0.1% vs. 0.4%; p = 0.001) and TVR (5.2% vs. 6.7%; p = 0.003) occurred less often in the MV-PCI group. Survival analysis after multiple imputation and propensity score matching showed similar mortality rates at long-term follow-up (log-rank p = 0.289), but a significant reduction for reinterventions in the MV-PCI group (log-rank p < 0.001). Conclusion: NSTE-ACS patients with MVD undergoing MV-PCI have similar mortality rates at long-term follow-up compared to CO-PCI. However, improved event-free survival in terms of fewer coronary reinterventions was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Because of an expected shrinking supply of medical doctors for hospitalist posts, an increased emphasis on efficiency and continuity of care, and the standardization of many medical procedures, the role of hospitalist is increasingly allocated to physician assistants (PAs). PAs are nonphysician clinicians with medical tasks. This study aims to evaluate the effects of substitution of hospital ward care to PAs. Methods/design In a multicenter matched controlled study, the traditional model in which the role of hospitalist is taken solely by MDs (MD model) is compared with a mixed model in which a PA functions as a hospitalist, contingent with MDs (PA/MD model). Twenty intervention and twenty control wards are included across The Netherlands, from a range of medical specialisms. Primary outcome measure is patients' length of hospital stay. Secondary outcomes include indicators for quality of hospital ward care, patients experiences with medical ward care, patients health-related quality of life, and healthcare providers' experiences. An economic evaluation is conducted to assess the cost implications and potential efficiency of the PA/MD model. For most measures, data is collected from medical records or questionnaires in samples of 115 patients per hospital ward. Semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals are conducted to identify determinants of efficiency, quality and continuity of care and barriers and facilitators for the implementation of PAs in the role of hospitalist. Discussion Findings from this study will help to further define the role of nonphysician clinicians and provides possible key components for the implementation of PAs in hospital ward care. Like in many studies of organizational change, random allocation to study arms is not feasible, which implies an increased risk for confounding. A major challenge is to deal with the heterogeneity of patients and hospital departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite limited beneficial evidence, mechanical circulatory support (MCS) is commonly used in patients with acute myocardial infarction-related cardiogenic shock (AMI-CS). In this Dutch registry, we investigated MCS usage, associated patient characteristics and clinical outcomes., Methods: This real-world, multicentre registry included CS patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention between 2017 and 2021 in 14 Dutch hospitals. The impact on clinical outcomes was analysed after 1:1 average propensity-score (aPS) matching., Results: This AMI-CS registry included 2217 patients with a mean age of 66.4 (±12.3) years and predominantly male (72.8%, n=1613). MCS was deployed in 516 patients (23.3%), of which the intra-aortic balloon pump was used most frequently (n=253, 49.0%). Impella was used in 94 patients (18.2%), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in 68 patients (13.2%) and 95 patients (18.4%) received multiple devices. Patients receiving MCS were younger (64.2 vs 67.0, p<0.01), presented with lower mean arterial pressures (74.7 vs 78.4 mm Hg, p<0.01), higher heart rates (88.3 vs 81.7 beats per minute, p<0.01) and higher initial lactate levels (6.4 vs 5.4 mmol/L, p<0.01). The percentage of resuscitated patients was comparable among MCS and non-MCS patients (38.6% vs 42.2%, p=0.17). The 30-day mortality rate was higher in MCS patients (55.0% vs 34.7%, p<0.01). After aPS-matching (n=970), 30-day mortality remained higher for MCS patients (53.8% vs 44.7%, p<0.01), with an associated OR of 1.44 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.85, p<0.01)., Conclusions: Despite limited evidence, MCS was used in a fourth of all AMI-CS patients. MCS usage was associated with an increased 30-day mortality in this real-world setting, even after propensity-matching., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)