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The article presents a study which examines the safety of pacemaker implantation in patients who are 70 years old in the 2004 to 2008 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project-Nationwide Inpatient Sample. It mentions that in-hospital mortality, complications, length of stay, and charges were included in outcomes of pacemaker implantation. It notes that severe comorbidity was a greater predictor of mortality than increasing age based on multivariable analysis.

Purpose: To compare in a population-based analysis the in-hospital mortality and complications following endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) vs. open repair in patients transferred for the management of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (RAAA). Methods: Interrogation of the 2003-2007 Nationwide Inpatient Sample database identified 271 patients (205 men; mean age 71.7 years) who were transferred for RAAA treatment. Demographic, patient, and hospital characteristics were analyzed. Hierarchical multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality and complications; results are presented as the odds ratio (OR) and 95%% confidence interval (CI). Results: In comparison to open repair (n == 207), endovascular repair (n == 64) was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (36%% vs. <18%%, p<0.01) and a lower complication rate (78%% vs. 66%%, p<0.05). Transferred RAAA patients undergoing EVAR had lower in-hospital mortality (OR 0.21, 95%% CI 0.09 to 0.49, p<0.01) and fewer complications (OR 0.49, 95%% CI 0.26 to 0.95, p<0.05) than transferred patients having open repair. Conclusion: Compared to open repair, EVAR led to superior short-term clinical outcomes in transferred RAAA patients. In this clinical situation, transfer of stable RAAA patients to institutions capable of performing EVAR is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which compared in-hospital mortality and complication rates between early and delayed treatment using plasma exchange (PLEX) in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). The study used the univariate and multivariate analyses of a Nationwide Inpatient Sample database that covered the years 2000 to 2005. Early treatment consisted of PLEX therapy within the first two days of hospital admission. It was revealed that mortality and complications increased if PLEX was applied two days after admission.