JAMA internal medicine
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JAMA internal medicine · Jun 2013
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyPerioperative use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and risks for adverse outcomes of surgery.
Single-site studies have described an association between use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and adverse outcomes of surgery. Multicenter studies including a broad range of surgical procedures that explore rare outcomes, such as bleeding and mortality, and that account for indications for administration of SSRIs are needed. ⋯ Receiving SSRIs in the perioperative period is associated with a higher risk for adverse events. Determining whether patient factors or SSRIs themselves are responsible for elevated risks requires prospective study.
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JAMA internal medicine · May 2013
Multicenter StudyReferral of patients with pulmonary hypertension diagnoses to tertiary pulmonary hypertension centers: the multicenter RePHerral study.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a fatal disease. Although the prognosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has improved with targeted therapies, the outcome is dependent on early detection and an accurate diagnosis. ⋯ Patients referred to PH centers for diagnosis and treatment are often referred late (with functional class III or IV disease), receive misdiagnoses, and are inappropriately prescribed medications. A reevaluation of educational efforts is required to improve awareness and the care and outcome of patients diagnosed as having PH.
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JAMA internal medicine · May 2013
Multicenter StudyHigh-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels and secondary events in outpatients with coronary heart disease from the Heart and Soul Study.
Levels of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) predict secondary cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary heart disease. ⋯ In outpatients with stable coronary heart disease, higher hs-cTnT levels were associated with multiple abnormalities of cardiac structure and function but remained independently predictive of secondary events. These findings suggest that hs-cTnT levels may detect an element of risk that is not captured by existing measures of cardiac disease severity.
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JAMA internal medicine · May 2013
Multicenter StudyFailure to engage hospitalized elderly patients and their families in advance care planning.
Advance care planning can improve patient-centered care and potentially reduce intensification of care at the end of life. ⋯ Many elderly patients at high risk of dying and their family members have expressed preferences for medical treatments at the EOL. However, communication with health care professionals and documentation of these preferences remains inadequate. Efforts to reduce this significant medical error of omission are warranted.
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JAMA internal medicine · Jan 2013
Multicenter StudyDiscerning the incidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic episodes of atrial fibrillation before and after catheter ablation (DISCERN AF): a prospective, multicenter study.
The DISCERN AF study (Discerning Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Episodes Pre and Post Radiofrequency Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation) monitored atrial fibrillation (AF) using an implantable cardiac monitor (ICM) to assess the incidence and predictors of asymptomatic AF before and after catheter ablation. ⋯ The ratio of asymptomatic to symptomatic AF episodes increased from 1.1 before to 3.7 after ablation. Postablation state is the strongest predictor of asymptomatic AF. Symptoms alone underestimate postablation AF burden, with 12% of patients having asymptomatic recurrences only.