Objectives
The objective was to describe the epidemiology of dyspnea presenting to emergency departments (EDs) in the Asia‐Pacific region, to understand how it is investigated and treated and its ...outcome.
Methods
Prospective interrupted time series cohort study conducted at three time points in EDs in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia of adult patients presenting to the ED with dyspnea as a main symptom. Data were collected over three 72‐hour periods and included demographics, comorbidities, mode of arrival, usual medications, prehospital treatment, initial assessment, ED investigations, treatment in the ED, ED diagnosis, disposition from ED, in‐hospital outcome, and final hospital diagnosis. The primary outcomes of interest are the epidemiology, investigation, treatment, and outcome of patients presenting to ED with dyspnea.
Results
A total of 3,044 patients were studied. Patients with dyspnea made up 5.2% (3,105/60,059, 95% confidence interval CI = 5.0% to 5.4%) of ED presentations, 11.4% of ward admissions (1,956/17,184, 95% CI = 10.9% to 11.9%), and 19.9% of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions (104/523, 95% CI = 16.7% to 23.5%). The most common diagnoses were lower respiratory tract infection (20.2%), heart failure (14.9%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (13.6%), and asthma (12.7%). Hospital ward admission was required for 64% of patients (95% CI = 62% to 66%) with 3.3% (95% CI = 2.8% to 4.1%) requiring ICU admission. In‐hospital mortality was 6% (95% CI = 5.0% to 7.2%).
Conclusion
Dyspnea is a common symptom in ED patients contributing substantially to ED, hospital, and ICU workload. It is also associated with significant mortality. There are a wide variety of causes however chronic disease accounts for a large proportion.
To evaluate the precipitating factors (PF) associated with acute heart failure and their association with medium-term prognosis.
Multipurpose prospective study from the EAHFE Registry. We included as ...PF: infection, rapid atrial fibrillation (RAF), anaemia, hypertensive crisis, non-adherence to diet or drug therapy and non-ST-segment-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS). Patients without PF were control group. Hazard ratios (HR) crudes and adjusted for reconsultations and mortality at 90 days were calculated.
3535 patients were included: 28% without and 72% with PF. Patients with RAF (HR 0.67; 95%CI 0.50-0.89) and hypertensive crisis (HR 0.45; 95%CI 0.28-0.72) had less mortality and patients with NSTEACS (HR 1.79; 95%CI 1.19-2.70) had more mortality. Reconsultation was fewer in patients with infection (HR 0.74; 95%CI 0.64-0.85), RAF (HR 0.69; 95%CI 0.58-0.83) and hypertensive crisis (HR 0.71; 95%CI 0.55-0.91). These differences were maintained in all the adjusted models except for hypertensive crisis.
One PF is identified in 3 out of 4 patients and it may influence medium-term prognosis. At 90 days, NSTEACS and RAF were associated with more and less mortality respectively, and RAF and infection with less probability of reconsultation.
We investigated the incidence, clinical characteristics, risk factors, and outcome of meningoencephalitis (ME) in patients with COVID-19 attending emergency departments (ED), before hospitalization. ...We retrospectively reviewed all COVID patients diagnosed with ME in 61 Spanish EDs (20% of Spanish EDs, COVID-ME) during the COVID pandemic. We formed two control groups: non-COVID patients with ME (non-COVID-ME) and COVID patients without ME (COVID-non-ME). Unadjusted comparisons between cases and controls were performed regarding 57 baseline and clinical characteristics and 4 outcomes. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biochemical and serologic findings of COVID-ME and non-COVID-ME were also investigated. We identified 29 ME in 71,904 patients with COVID-19 attending EDs (0.40‰, 95%CI=0.27–0.58). This incidence was higher than that observed in non-COVID patients (150/1,358,134, 0.11‰, 95%CI=0.09–0.13; OR=3.65, 95%CI=2.45–5.44). With respect to non-COVID-ME, COVID-ME more frequently had dyspnea and chest X-ray abnormalities, and neck stiffness was less frequent (OR=0.3, 95%CI=0.1–0.9). In 69.0% of COVID-ME, CSF cells were predominantly lymphocytes, and SARS-CoV-2 antigen was detected by RT-PCR in 1 patient. The clinical characteristics associated with a higher risk of presenting ME in COVID patients were vomiting (OR=3.7, 95%CI=1.4–10.2), headache (OR=24.7, 95%CI=10.2–60.1), and altered mental status (OR=12.9, 95%CI=6.6–25.0). COVID-ME patients had a higher in-hospital mortality than non-COVID-ME patients (OR=2.26; 95%CI=1.04–4.48), and a higher need for hospitalization (OR=8.02; 95%CI=1.19–66.7) and intensive care admission (OR=5.89; 95%CI=3.12–11.14) than COVID-non-ME patients. ME is an unusual form of COVID presentation (<0.5‰ cases), but is more than 4-fold more frequent than in non-COVID patients attending the ED. As the majority of these MEs had lymphocytic predominance and in one patient SARS-CoV-2 antigen was detected in CSF, SARS-CoV-2 could be the cause of most of the cases observed. COVID-ME patients had a higher unadjusted in-hospital mortality than non-COVID-ME patients.
Short stay unit (SSU) is an alternative to conventional hospitalization in patients with acute heart failure (AHF), but the prognosis is not known compared to direct discharge from the emergency ...department (ED). To determine whether direct discharge from the ED of patients diagnosed with AHF is associated with early adverse outcomes versus hospitalization in SSU. Endpoints, defined as 30-day all-cause mortality or post-discharge adverse events, were evaluated in patients diagnosed with AHF in 17 Spanish EDs with an SSU, and compared by ED discharge vs. SSU hospitalization. Endpoint risk was adjusted for baseline and AHF episode characteristics and in patients matched by propensity score (PS) for SSU hospitalization. Overall, 2358 patients were discharged home and 2003 were hospitalized in SSUs. Discharged patients were younger, more frequently men, with fewer comorbidities, had better baseline status, less infection, rapid atrial fibrillation and hypertensive emergency as the AHF trigger, and had a lower severity of AHF episode. While their 30-day mortality rate was lower than in patients hospitalized in SSU (4.4% vs. 8.1%,
p
< 0.001), 30-day post-discharge adverse events were similar (27.2% vs. 28.4%,
p
= 0.599). After adjustment, there were no differences in the 30-day risk of mortality of discharged patients (adjusted HR 0.846, 95% CI 0.637–1.107) or adverse events (1.035, 0.914–1.173). In 337 pairs of PS-matched patients, there were no differences in mortality or risk of adverse event between patients directly discharged or admitted to an SSU (0.753, 0.409–1.397; and 0.858, 0.645–1.142; respectively). Direct ED discharge of patients diagnosed with AHF provides similar outcomes compared to patients with similar characteristics and hospitalized in a SSU.
Treatment of acute pain in older patients is a common challenge faced in emergency departments (EDs). Despite many studies that have investigated chronic analgesic use in the elderly, data on ...patterns of acute use, especially in EDs, of analgesics according to patient characteristics is scarce.
To investigate sex- and age-related patterns of analgesic use in the Spanish EDs and determine differences in age-related patterns according to patient sex.
A secondary analysis of the Emergency Department and Elderly Needs (EDEN) multipurpose cohort.
Fifty-two Spanish EDs (17% of Spanish EDs covering 25% of Spanish population).
All patients' ≥65 years attending ED during 1 week (April 1-7, 2019). Patient characteristics recorded included age, sex, chronic treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opiates, comorbidity, dependence, dementia, depression, ability to walk and previous falls. Analgesics used in the ED were categorized in three groups: non-NSAID non-opioids (mainly paracetamol and metamizole, PM), NSAIDs, and opiates.
Frequency of analgesic use was quantified, and the relationship between sex and age and analgesic use (in general and for each analgesic group) was assessed by unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression and restricted cubic spline models. Interaction between sex and age was explored.
We included 24 573 patients, and 6678 (27.2%) received analgesics in the ED: 5551 (22.6%) PM, 1661 (6.8%) NSAIDs and 937 (3.8%) opiates (1312 received combinations). Analgesics were more frequently used in women (adjusted OR = 1.076, 95%CI = 1.014-1.142), as well as with NSAID (1.205, 1.083-1.341). Analgesic use increased with age, increasing PM and decreasing NSAIDs use. Opiate use remained quite constant across age and sex. Interaction of sex with age was present for the use of analgesics in general ( P = 0.006), for PM ( P < 0.001) and for opiates ( P = 0.033), with higher use of all these analgesics in women.
Use of analgesics in older individuals in EDs is mildly augmented in women and increases with age, with PM use increasing and NSAIDs decreasing with age. Conversely, opiate use is quite constant according to sex and age. Age-related patterns differ according to sex, with age-related curves of women showing higher probabilities than those of men to receive any analgesic, PM or opiates.
Introduction
The presence of iron deficiency (ID) in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) is high. There are few studies on the characteristics of these patients and the safety of ferric ...carboxymaltose administration (FCM).
Objective
Study the differences among patients with AHF based on the presence and type of ID as well as the safety of FCM administration in these patients.
Method
The AHF‐ID study is a multicentre, analytical, prospective follow‐up cohort including patients admitted to six Spanish hospitals for AHF. ID was defined as serum ferritin <100 μg/L (group A) or ferritin 100‐299 μg/L with a TSAT <20% (group B). In cases receiving FCM the appearance of adverse events was analysed. Adjusted Cox regression was used to determine the association with 30‐days reattendance for AHF after discharge.
Results
A total of 221 patients were recruited; 191 (86.4%) presented ID, 121 (63.4%) group A and 70 (36.6%) group B. There were scarce differences between the groups analysed. No differences were found in 30‐days reattendance for AHF. FCM was administered to 158 (71.5%) patients, with 8 (5.1%) presenting adverse events, the most frequent being digestive alterations. Treatment was not discontinued in any case.
Conclusions
There are scarce differences between the presence and the type of ID in patients with AHF. The administration of FCM in patients with ID and AHF is safe.
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