European heart journal
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European heart journal · Feb 2004
Multicenter StudyPredictors of in-hospital mortality in 1333 patients with acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI); Results of the primary PCI registry of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Leitende Kardiologische Krankenhausärzte (ALKK).
Aims Acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock is associated with an exceedingly high mortality, even if patients are treated with early reperfusion therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate predictors of in-hospital mortality of a large cohort of consecutive patients with cardiogenic shock treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods and results Between July 1994 and March 2001 all interventions performed in 80 centres in Germany were prospectively entered into the primary PCI registry of the ALKK. ⋯ Conclusions In-hospital mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock remains high, even with early interventional therapy. However, our data demonstrate that the PCI in these high-risk patients is feasible in a wide spectrum of community hospitals with acceptable success rates. Our results seen in connection with the results of the randomized SHOCK study advocate an early invasive approach in younger patients with cardiogenic shock, while the best strategy in elderly patients is still a matter of debate.
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European heart journal · Feb 2004
Low-risk patients with chest pain and without evidence of myocardial infarction may be safely discharged from emergency department.
This study is an audit of the risk stratification of patients admitted to a university hospital emergency department with a suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The main aim of the study was to investigate the prognosis of those patients who were discharged to home from the emergency room (ER) or adjacent chest pain observation unit (CPU). ⋯ Patients admitted with chest pain may be safely discharged from the emergency department, if there is no evidence of MI or high-risk ACS. However, further examination and appropriate treatment must be arranged.