Kardiol Pol
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
An optimal chest compression technique using personal protective equipment during resuscitation in the COVID-19 pandemic: a randomized crossover simulation study.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation with the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for aerosol generating procedures (AGP) in patients with suspected or confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) remains challenging. ⋯ We demonstrated that during simulated resuscitation with the use of PPE AGP in patients with suspected or confirmed COVID‑19, CC with LUCAS 3 compared with manual CCs as well as the TrueCPR essentially increased the CC quality. In the case of manual CCs by paramedics dressed in PPE AGP, it is advisable to change the person performing resuscitation every minute.
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Multicenter Study
Polish regional differences in patient knowledge on atrial fibrillation and its management as well as in patterns of oral anticoagulant prescription.
BACKGROUND The Jessa Atrial Fibrillation Knowledge Questionnaire (JAKQ) was successfully used to assess knowledge gaps in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). AIMS To evaluate the regional differences among Polish patients in their awareness of AF diagnosis and oral anticoagulation use. METHODS A total of 1583 patients with AF at a median (IQR) age of 72 (66-79) years completed the JAKQ in 3 cardiology centers (center I, Kraków; center II, Toruń; center III, Kielce) from January 2017 to June 2018. ⋯ The percentage of correct responses was lower in patients on reduced NOAC doses (35.4% of patients on NOACs), compared with the full-dose NOAC groups in center I (56.9% vs 62.5%; P = 0.012) and II (48.1% vs 56.2%; P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS Patients from a high-volume academic center showed better knowledge than their peers from district hospitals. There are large regional differences in prescription patterns of oral anticoagulants, including the preferred NOAC.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Which position should we take during newborn resuscitation? A prospective, randomised, multicentre simulation trial.
Early bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for cardiac arrest is crucial in the chain of survival. Cardiac arrest in infants is rare, but CPR is also performed in severe bradycardia. European Resuscitation Council and American Heart Association guidelines recommend continuing CPR until the heart muscle is sufficiently oxygenated and regains sufficient contractility and function. The most common and recommended CPR techniques that can be applied in newborns are the two-finger technique and two-thumb technique. ⋯ The quality of CCs in newborns depends on the location of the patient and the rescuer. The optimal form of resuscitation of newborns is resuscitation on the rescuer's forearm.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of clinical characteristics of real-life atrial fibrillation patients treated with vitamin K antagonists, dabigatran, and rivaroxaban: results from the CRAFT study.
The first-line drugs for the treatment of non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) are non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs), which are preferred over vitamin K antagonists (VKAs). There is some evidence that there are dis-crepancies between everyday clinical practice and the guidelines. ⋯ The prescription of VKAs declined significantly after the introduction of NOACs. Patients treated with different OACs demonstrated a distinct baseline clinical profile. The highest risk of thromboembolic events and incidence of major bleedings was observed in patients on rivaroxaban, in comparison to patients on VKAs and dabigatran. Among NOACs, patients treated with lower doses of dabigatran and rivaroxaban were older and had a significantly higher risk of thromboembolic and bleeding events.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Hospitalisation length and prognosis in heart failure patients.
Heart failure (HF) is a chronic disease with poor prognosis, being the final stage of many cardiovascular conditions and often requiring hospitalisation. ⋯ Patients with HF hospitalised for 22 or more days, in comparison to patients hospitalised for less than eight days, had double the risk of death during FU. We believe that prolonged hospitalisation might be regarded as a marker of poor prognosis in patients with acute HF.