| 1. |
- Alehagen, Urban, et al.
(författare)
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A clinician’s experience of using the Cardiac Reader NT-proBNP point-of-care assay in a clinical setting
- 2008
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Ingår i: European Journal of Heart Failure. - : Institutionen för medicin och hälsa. - 1388-9842 .- 1879-0844. ; 10:3, s. 260-266
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The evaluation of natriuretic peptides has become increasingly valuable in a clinical setting, where information is often needed promptly. Objectives: To compare the usefulness of the recently released Roche Cardiac Reader ® NT-proBNP assay against the Roche Elecsys® NT-proBNP laboratory system in a clinical setting. Design and Results: Blood samples from 440 patients admitted for acute coronary syndromes, worsening of heart failure, or as policlinic heart failure patients were evaluated. The relation between the assays was analysed and the diagnostic concordance calculated. A good correlation was found between the assays (r=0.96, 95% CI: 0.94-0.97) with a diagnostic concordance of 0.93. A separate analysis was performed in the range where most clinical decisions are made (60-3000 ng/L), with a diagnostic concordance of 88%. The usefulness in a clinical setting where time is important was high. Conclusion: The Roche Cardiac Reader® NT-proBNP assay has been evaluated in a clinical setting. The point-of-care method shows good results, although with a restricted analytical range compared with the reference.
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| 2. |
- Alehagen, Urban, et al.
(författare)
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Cystatin C and NT-proBNP, a powerful combination of biomarkers for predicting cardiovascular mortality in elderly patients with heart failure : results from a 10-year study in primary care
- 2009
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Ingår i: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HEART FAILURE. - : Wiley. - 1388-9842. ; 11:4, s. 354-360
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Heart failure (HF) is common among the elderly patients. It is essential to identify those at high risk in order to optimize the use of resources. We aimed to evaluate whether a combination of two biomarkers might give better prognostic information about the risk of cardiovascular (CV) mortality in patients with symptoms associated with HF, compared with only one biomarker. Four hundred and sixty-four primary health-care patients (mean age 73 years, range 65-87) with symptoms of HF were examined. All patients were evaluated using Doppler echocardiography and blood samples, including measurement of cystatin C and NT-proBNP. The patients were followed over a 10-year period. Patients with serum cystatin C levels within the highest quartile had almost three times the risk (HR: 2.92; 95% CI: 1.23-4.90) of CV mortality compared with those patients who had levels within the first, second, or third quartiles. If, at the same time, the patient had a plasma concentration of NT-proBNP within the highest quartile, the risk increased to andgt; 13 times (HR: 13.61; 95% CI: 2.56-72.24) during 10 years of follow-up or andgt; 17 times (HR: 17.04; 95% CI: 1.80-163.39) after 5 years of follow-up. Combined analysis of cystatin C and NT-proBNP could provide important prognostic information among elderly patients in the community with symptoms of HF.
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| 3. |
- Alehagen, Urban, et al.
(författare)
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Quality-adjusted life year weights among elderly patients with heart failure
- 2008
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Ingår i: European journal of heart failure. - : Wiley. - 1388-9842. ; 10:10, s. 1033-1039
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background When assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in elderly patients with heart failure (HF), the process of obtaining quality-adjusted life year (QALY) weights is generally complicated and time-consuming. Aim To evaluate whether information regarding HRQoL and QALY weights can be derived directly from the established and widely used New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification system. Methods NYHA functional status was assessed independently both by the individual patients and by the examining cardiologist in 323 elderly patients with symptoms of HF recruited from primary care. HRQoL was evaluated using the SF-36 questionnaire and a time trade-off (TTO) scenario. The TTO technique generates direct QALY weights. Results Both the TTO technique and SF-36 values demonstrated a statistically significant correlation with NYHA functional status. The TTO values also correlated with all SF-36 dimensions. Increasing impairment was associated with statistically significant drops in both SF-36 values and TTO-based QALY weights. For patients in NYHA classes I–IV the QALY weights were 0.77, 0.68, 0.61, and 0.50, respectively. Thus in elderly patients, symptoms of HF have a major impact on perceived quality of life. Conclusion The results of the present study show that QALY weights, an important instrument in the health economic evaluation of treatment strategies, can be derived directly from NYHA classification in elderly HF patients.
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| 4. |
- Allen, L. A., et al.
(författare)
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Liver function abnormalities and outcome in patients with chronic heart failure: data from the Candesartan in Heart Failure: Assessment of Reduction in Mortality and Morbidity (CHARM) program
- 2009
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Ingår i: Eur J Heart Fail. - : Wiley. - 1388-9842. ; 11:2, s. 170-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS: The prevalence and importance of liver function test (LFT) abnormalities in a large contemporary cohort of heart failure patients have not been systematically evaluated. METHODS AND RESULTS: We characterized the LFTs of 2679 patients with symptomatic chronic heart failure from the Candesartan in Heart failure: Assessment of Reduction in Mortality and morbidity program (CHARM). We used multivariable modelling to assess the relationships between baseline LFT values and long-term outcomes. Liver function test abnormalities were common in patients with chronic heart failure, ranging from alanine aminotransferase elevation in 3.1% of patients to low albumin in 18.3% of patients; total bilirubin was elevated in 13.0% of patients. In multivariable analysis, elevated total bilirubin was the strongest LFT predictor of adverse outcome for both the composite outcome of cardiovascular death or heart failure hospitalization (HR 1.21 per 1 SD increase, P<0.0001) and all-cause mortality (HR 1.19 per 1 SD increase, P<0.0001). Even after adjustment for other variables, elevated total bilirubin was one of the strongest independent predictors of poor prognosis (by global chi-square). CONCLUSION: Bilirubin is independently associated with morbidity and mortality. Changes in total bilirubin may offer insight into the underlying pathophysiology of chronic heart failure.
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| 5. |
- Anker, Stefan D., et al.
(författare)
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Rationale and design of Ferinject((R)) Assessment in patients with IRon deficiency and chronic Heart Failure (FAIR-HF) study: a randomized, placebo-controlled study of intravenous iron supplementation in patients with and without anaemia
- 2009
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Ingår i: European Journal of Heart Failure. - : Wiley. - 1879-0844 .- 1388-9842. ; 11:11, s. 1084-1091
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Iron deficiency (ID) and anaemia are common in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The presence of anaemia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in CHF, and ID is a major reason for the development of anaemia. Preliminary studies using intravenous (i.v.) iron supplementation alone in patients with CHF and ID have shown improvements in symptom status. FAIR-HF (Clinical Trials.gov NCT00520780) was designed to determine the effect of i.v. iron repletion therapy using ferric carboxymaltose on self-reported patient global assessment (PGA) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) in patients with CHF and ID. This is a multi-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study recruiting ambulatory patients with symptomatic CHF with LVEF < 40% (NYHA II) or < 45% (NYHA III), ID [ferritin < 100 ng/mL or ferritin 100-300 ng/mL when transferrin saturation (TSAT) < 20%], and haemoglobin 9.5-13.5 g/dL. Patients were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive ferric carboxymaltose (Ferinject((R))) 200 mg iron i.v. or saline i.v. weekly until iron repletion (correction phase), then monthly until Week 24 (maintenance phase). Primary endpoints are (i) self-reported PGA at Week 24 and (ii) NYHA class at Week 24, adjusted for baseline NYHA class. This study will provide evidence on the efficacy and safety of iron repletion with ferric carboxymaltose in CHF patients with ID with and without anaemia.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Blomström, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Cost effectiveness of cardiac resynchronization therapy in the Nordic region : an analysis based on the CARE-HF trial
- 2008
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Ingår i: European Journal of Heart Failure. - : Wiley. - 1388-9842 .- 1879-0844. ; 10:9, s. 869-877
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the cost-effectiveness of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. The analysis was based on the CARE-HF trial, a randomised clinical trial investigating the efficacy of adding CRT (n=409) to optimal pharmacological treatment (n=404) in patients with moderate to severe heart failure with markers of cardiac dyssynchrony. The average follow-up time was 29.4 months. METHODS: The health effects were measured in terms of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained. Data on health care resource consumption from CARE-HF was combined with costs for CRT implantation and hospitalisation from university hospitals in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Calculations were based on patients' expected life time. The expected device lifetime (6 years) was used for CRT, and no additional gains in clinical effects were assumed after the 6 years. RESULTS: The cost-effectiveness ratio per QALY gained was 4800 euros in Denmark, 3600 euros in Finland and 6700 euros in Sweden. The 95% confidence intervals for the cost per QALY gained varied between a lower limit of 1169 euros in Finland to an upper limit of 17,482 euros in Sweden. These values were all below the threshold for being cost-effective in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates that CRT is a cost-effective treatment in Scandinavian health care settings compared to traditional pharmacological therapy and can therefore be recommended for routine use in patients with moderate to severe heart failure and markers of dyssynchrony.
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