Mild renal insufficiency and attributable risk of adverse In-hospital outcomes in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome from the improving care for Cardiovascular Disease in China (CCC) project

Background Renal insufficiency (RI) is a frequent comorbidity among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We aimed to evaluate the attributable risk associated with mild RI for the in-hospital outcomes in patients with ACS. Methods The Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China-ACS (CCC-ACS) Project was a collaborative study of the American Heart Association and the Chinese Society of Cardiology. A total of 92,509 inpatients with a discharge diagnosis of ACS were included. The attributable risk was calculated to investigate the effect of mild RI (eGFR 60-89 ml / min · 1.73 m2) on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) during hospitalization. Results The average age of these ACS patients was 63 years, and 73.9% were men. The proportion of patients with mild RI was 36.17%. After adjusting for other possible risk factors, mild RI was still an independent risk factor for MACEs in ACS patients. In the ACS patients, the attributable risk of eGFR 60-89ml/min·1.73m2 to MACEs was 7.78%, 4.69% of eGFR 45-59 ml/min·1.73m2, 4.46% of eGFR 30-44 ml/min·1.73m2, and 3.36% of eGFR<30 ml/min·1.73m2. Conclusion Compared with moderate to severe RI, mild RI has higher attributable risk to MACEs during hospitalization in Chinese ACS population.

PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF GRACE VERSUS TIMI SCORE FOR IN-HOSPITAL OUTCOMES AFTER NON-ST-ELEVATION ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME

Objectives: To compare the predictive value of TIMI and GRACE score for predicting in-hospital outcomes after non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). Methodology: This study included prospectively recruited cohort of patients presented to a tertiary care cardiac center of Karachi, Pakistan who were diagnosed with NSTE-ACS. GRACE and TIMI score were obtained and in-hospital mortality was recorded. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis was performed and area under the curve (AUC) was obtained as indicative of predictive value for both scores. Results: A total of 300 patients were included, out of which 76.7%(230) were male and mean age was 58.04±10.71 years. Risk profile comprises of 84.3%(253) hypertensive, 42.0%(126) diabetic, 27.3%(82) smokers, 9.0%(27) obese, 15.3%(46) dyslipidemic, and 31%(93) with sedentary lifestyle. Mean GRACE and TIMI score were 120.19±33.17 and 3.18±0.85 respectively. In-hospital mortality rate was 5.3%(16). AUC for the GRACE score was 0.851 [0.767 - 0.934] with the optimal cut-off value of 150 with sensitivity of 68.8% and specificity of 84.9%. The AUC for the TIMI score was 0.781[0.671 - 0.891] with the optimal cut-off value of 4 with sensitivity of 75.0% and specificity of 67.6%. Conclusion: The GRACE score has high discriminating strength for predicting in-hospital mortality after NSTE-ACS. GRACE score should be used as risk stratification modality in clinical decision making for the management of NSTE-ACS.

Hospital outcomes of community-acquired COVID-19 versus influenza: Insights from the Swiss hospital-based surveillance of influenza and COVID-19

Background Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease has frequently been compared with seasonal influenza, but this comparison is based on little empirical data. Aim This study compares in-hospital outcomes for patients with community-acquired COVID-19 and patients with community-acquired influenza in Switzerland. Methods This retrospective multi-centre cohort study includes patients > 18 years admitted for COVID-19 or influenza A/B infection determined by RT-PCR. Primary and secondary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and intensive care unit (ICU) admission for patients with COVID-19 or influenza. We used Cox regression (cause-specific and Fine-Gray subdistribution hazard models) to account for time-dependency and competing events with inverse probability weighting to adjust for confounders. Results In 2020, 2,843 patients with COVID-19 from 14 centres were included. Between 2018 and 2020, 1,381 patients with influenza from seven centres were included; 1,722 (61%) of the patients with COVID-19 and 666 (48%) of the patients with influenza were male (p < 0.001). The patients with COVID-19 were younger (median 67 years; interquartile range (IQR): 54–78) than the patients with influenza (median 74 years; IQR: 61–84) (p < 0.001). A larger percentage of patients with COVID-19 (12.8%) than patients with influenza (4.4%) died in hospital (p < 0.001). The final adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio for mortality was 3.01 (95% CI: 2.22–4.09; p < 0.001) for COVID-19 compared with influenza and 2.44 (95% CI: 2.00–3.00, p < 0.001) for ICU admission. Conclusion Community-acquired COVID-19 was associated with worse outcomes compared with community-acquired influenza, as the hazards of ICU admission and in-hospital death were about two-fold to three-fold higher.

Impact of Pharmacist-Driven Transitions of Care Interventions on Post-hospital Outcomes Among Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic Review

Background Transitions of care (ToC) aim to provide continuity while preventing loss of information that may result in poor outcomes such as hospital readmission. Readmissions not only burden patients, they also increase costs. Given the high prevalence of coronary artery diseases (CAD) in the United States (US), patients with CAD often make up a significant portion of hospital readmissions. Objective To conduct a systematic review evaluating the impact of pharmacist-driven ToC interventions on post-hospital outcomes for patients with CAD. Methods MEDLINE, Scopus, and CINAHL were searched from database inception through 03/2020 using key words for CAD and pharmacists. Studies were included if they: (1) identified adults with CAD at US hospitals, (2) evaluated pharmacist-driven ToC interventions, and (3) assessed post-discharge outcomes. Outcomes were summarized qualitatively. Results Of the 1612 citations identified, 11 met criteria for inclusion. Pharmacist-driven ToC interventions were multifaceted and frequently included medication reconciliation, medication counseling, post-discharge follow-up and initiatives to improve medication adherence. Hospital readmission and emergency room visits were numerically lower among patients receiving vs not receiving pharmacist-driven interventions, with statistically significant differences observed in 1 study. Secondary prevention measures and adherence tended to be more favorable in the pharmacist-driven intervention groups. Conclusion Eleven studies of multifaceted, ToC interventions led by pharmacists were identified. Readmissions were numerically lower and secondary prevention measures and adherence were more favorable among patients receiving pharmacist-driven interventions. However, sufficiently powered studies are still required to confirm these benefits.