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Cardiology |
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| 16 Oct 2009 | Viewed: 45 | |
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Researchers at St. Michael's
Hospital have developed the first mathematical model in cardiology and
emergency medicine to more quickly and reliably diagnose acute heart failure (AHF) in emergency room patients. Research findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, have been shown to help physicians diagnose AHF with greater accuracy.
"In Canada, more than 100,000 people are hospitalized each year for
acute heart failure while an estimated $1.4 - 2.3 billion is spent to
manage the disease," explains Dr. Brian Steinhart, lead researcher and
emergency medicine physician at St. Michael's Hospital. "Our model aims
to ensure early correct diagnosis and treatment, which allows for
shorter emergency department stay for these patients and could lead to
improved health outcomes and better access to precious emergency
department resources."
According to researchers, the model uses natriuretic-peptide
levels (a peptide hormone released from heart muscle to help regulate
body fluids and blood pressure) and the clinician's judgement to help
diagnose patients whose history, physical or chest X-ray may not
clearly indicate AHF. Currently, accurate clinical diagnosis of AHF in
the emergency department is less than 80 percent.
"In many cases, when a patient arrives in an emergency
department complaining of shortness of breath, physicians are
challenged to correctly diagnose patients," says Dr. Steinhart, "Our
model does not require extensive clinical information, which makes it
relatively simple-to-use. When the result is greater than 80 percent
probability for heart failure, it suggests that the physician should
treat for AHF and when it is less than 20 percent, the physician should
be looking elsewhere for diagnosis."
The study developed the prediction model from the emergency
department experience of 534 patients with undifferentiated shortness
of breath enrolled in the Canadian Improved Management of Patients with
Congestive Heart Failure (IMPROVE-CHF) trial.
Researchers and physicians involved in the trial include: St.
Michael's Hospital's Kevin Thorpe, Dr. Ahmed Bayoumi, Dr. Gordon Moe
and Dr. David Mazer, and Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard
Medical School's Dr. James Januzzi.
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| News Source: medical news today |
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