Measurement and comparison of individual external doses of high-school students living in Japan, France, Poland and Belarus -- the "D-shuttle" project --

Twelve high schools in Japan (of which six are in Fukushima Prefecture), four in France, eight in Poland and two in Belarus cooperated in the measurement and comparison of individual external doses in 2014. In total 216 high-school students and teachers participated in the study. Each participant wore an electronic personal dosimeter "D-shuttle" for two weeks, and kept a journal of his/her whereabouts and activities. The distributions of annual external doses estimated for each region overlap with each other, demonstrating that the personal external individual doses in locations where residence is currently allowed in Fukushima Prefecture and in Belarus are well within the range of estimated annual doses due to the background radiation level of other regions/countries

Use of anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents in stable outpatients with coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation. Data from the international CLARIFY registry

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International longitudinal registry of patients with atrial fibrillation and treated with rivaroxaban: RIVaroxaban Evaluation in Real life setting (RIVER)

Background Real-world data on non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are essential in determining whether evidence from randomised controlled clinical trials translate into meaningful clinical benefits for patients in everyday practice. RIVER (RIVaroxaban Evaluation in Real life setting) is an ongoing international, prospective registry of patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and at least one investigator-determined risk factor for stroke who received rivaroxaban as an initial treatment for the prevention of thromboembolic stroke. The aim of this paper is to describe the design of the RIVER registry and baseline characteristics of patients with newly diagnosed NVAF who received rivaroxaban as an initial treatment. Methods and results Between January 2014 and June 2017, RIVER investigators recruited 5072 patients at 309 centres in 17 countries. The aim was to enroll consecutive patients at sites where rivaroxaban was already routinely prescribed for stroke prevention. Each patient is being followed up prospectively for a minimum of 2-years. The registry will capture data on the rate and nature of all thromboembolic events (stroke / systemic embolism), bleeding complications, all-cause mortality and other major cardiovascular events as they occur. Data quality is assured through a combination of remote electronic monitoring and onsite monitoring (including source data verification in 10% of cases). Patients were mostly enrolled by cardiologists (n = 3776, 74.6%), by internal medicine specialists 14.2% (n = 718) and by primary care/general practice physicians 8.2% (n = 417). The mean (SD) age of the population was 69.5 (11.0) years, 44.3% were women. Mean (SD) CHADS2 score was 1.9 (1.2) and CHA2DS2-VASc scores was 3.2 (1.6). Almost all patients (98.5%) were prescribed with once daily dose of rivaroxaban, most commonly 20 mg (76.5%) and 15 mg (20.0%) as their initial treatment; 17.9% of patients received concomitant antiplatelet therapy. Most patients enrolled in RIVER met the recommended threshold for AC therapy (86.6% for 2012 ESC Guidelines, and 79.8% of patients according to 2016 ESC Guidelines). Conclusions The RIVER prospective registry will expand our knowledge of how rivaroxaban is prescribed in everyday practice and whether evidence from clinical trials can be translated to the broader cross-section of patients in the real world

Effect of Chronic Kidney Diseases on Mortality among Digoxin Users Treated for Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation: A Nationwide Register-Based Retrospective Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the impact of chronic kidney disease on all-causes and cardiovascular mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation treated with digoxin. METHODS: All patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and/or atrial flutter as hospitalization diagnosis from January 1, 1997 to December 31, 2012 were identified in Danish nationwide administrative registries. Cox proportional hazard model was used to compare the adjusted risk of all-causes and cardiovascular mortality among patients with and without chronic kidney disease and among patients with different chronic kidney disease stages within 180 days and 2 years from the first digoxin prescription. RESULTS: We identified 37,981 patients receiving digoxin; 1884 patients had the diagnosis of chronic kidney disease. Cox regression analysis showed no statistically significant differences in all-causes (Hazard Ratio, HR 0.89; 95% confident interval, CI 0.78-1.03) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 0.88; 95%CI 0.74-1.05) among patients with and without chronic kidney disease within 180 days of follow-up period. No statistically significant differences was found using a 2 years follow-up period neither for all causes mortality (HR 0.90; 95%CI 0.79-1.03), nor for cardiovascular mortality (HR 0.87; 95%CI 0.74-1.02). No statistically significant differences was found comparing patients with and without estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate <30ml/min/1.73m2 and patients with different stages of chronic kidney disease, for all-causes and cardiovascular mortality within 180 days and 2 years from the first digoxin prescription. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggest no direct effect of chronic kidney disease and chronic kidney disease stages on all-causes and cardiovascular mortality within both 180 days and 2 years from the first digoxin prescription in patients treatment-naïve with digoxin for non-valvular atrial fibrillation

Real-world applicability and impact of early rhythm control for European patients with atrial fibrillation: a report from the ESC-EHRA EORP-AF Long-Term General Registry

Background: Use of rate/rhythm control is essential to control symptoms in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Recently, the EAST-AFNET 4 trial described how early rhythm control strategy was associated with a lower risk of adverse clinical outcomes. Objectives: The aim was to evaluate the real-world applicability and impact of an early rhythm control strategy in patients with AF. Methods: Use of an early rhythm control strategy was assessed in a European cohort of AF patients derived from the EHRA-ESC EORP-AF General Long-Term Registry. Early rhythm control was defined as use of antiarrhythmic drugs or cardioversion/catheter ablation. The primary outcome included cardiovascular death, stroke, acute coronary syndrome, and worsening of heart failure. Quality of life and health-care resource usage were also assessed as outcomes. Results: Among the 10,707 patients evaluated for eligibility to EAST-AFNET 4, a total of 3774 (34.0%) were included. Early rhythm control was associated with better quality of life, but with greater use of health-care resources. During follow-up, the primary outcome occurred less often in early rhythm control patients than in those with no rhythm control (13.6% vs. 18.5%, p &lt; 0.001). In the multivariate adjusted Cox regression model, no significant difference was found between no rhythm control and early rhythm control, for the primary outcome. No difference in the primary outcome between early rhythm control and ‘no rhythm control patients’ adherent to Atrial fibrillation Better Care (ABC) pathway’ was evident (p = 0.753) Conclusions: Use of an early rhythm control strategy was associated with a lower rate of major adverse events, but this difference was non-significant on multivariate analysis, being mediated by differences in baseline characteristics and clinical risk profile. Early rhythm control was associated with a higher use of health-care resources and risk of hospital admission, despite showing better quality of life. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Factors Associated with Progression of Atrial Fibrillation and Impact on All-Cause Mortality in a Cohort of European Patients

Background: Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) may often progress towards more sustained forms of the arrhythmia, but further research is needed on the factors associated with this clinical course. Methods: We analyzed patients enrolled in a prospective cohort study of AF patients. Patients with paroxysmal AF at baseline or first-detected AF (with successful cardioversion) were included. According to rhythm status at 1 year, patients were stratified into: (i) No AF progression and (ii) AF progression. All-cause death was the primary outcome. Results: A total of 2688 patients were included (median age 67 years, interquartile range 60–75, females 44.7%). At 1-year of follow-up, 2094 (77.9%) patients showed no AF progression, while 594 (22.1%) developed persistent or permanent AF. On multivariable logistic regression analysis, no physical activity (odds ratio [OR] 1.35, 95% CI 1.02–1.78), valvular heart disease (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.23–2.15), left atrial diameter (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01–1.05), or left ventricular ejection fraction (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97–1.00) were independently associated with AF progression at 1 year. After the assessment at 1 year, the patients were followed for an extended follow-up of 371 days, and those with AF progression were independently associated with a higher risk for all-cause death (adjusted hazard ratio 1.77, 95% CI 1.09–2.89) compared to no-AF-progression patients. Conclusions: In a contemporary cohort of AF patients, a substantial proportion of patients presenting with paroxysmal or first-detected AF showed progression of the AF pattern within 1 year, and clinical factors related to cardiac remodeling were associated with progression. AF progression was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality

Clinical complexity and impact of the ABC (Atrial fibrillation Better Care) pathway in patients with atrial fibrillation: a report from the ESC-EHRA EURObservational Research Programme in AF General Long-Term Registry

BACKGROUND: Clinical complexity is increasingly prevalent among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The 'Atrial fibrillation Better Care' (ABC) pathway approach has been proposed to streamline a more holistic and integrated approach to AF care; however, there are limited data on its usefulness among clinically complex patients. We aim to determine the impact of ABC pathway in a contemporary cohort of clinically complex AF patients. METHODS: From the ESC-EHRA EORP-AF General Long-Term Registry, we analysed clinically complex AF patients, defined as the presence of frailty, multimorbidity and/or polypharmacy. A K-medoids cluster analysis was performed to identify different groups of clinical complexity. The impact of an ABC-adherent approach on major outcomes was analysed through Cox-regression analyses and delay of event (DoE) analyses. RESULTS: Among 9966 AF patients included, 8289 (83.1%) were clinically complex. Adherence to the ABC pathway in the clinically complex group reduced the risk of all-cause death (adjusted HR [aHR]: 0.72, 95%CI 0.58-0.91), major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs; aHR: 0.68, 95%CI 0.52-0.87) and composite outcome (aHR: 0.70, 95%CI: 0.58-0.85). Adherence to the ABC pathway was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of death (aHR: 0.74, 95%CI 0.56-0.98) and composite outcome (aHR: 0.76, 95%CI 0.60-0.96) also in the high-complexity cluster; similar trends were observed for MACEs. In DoE analyses, an ABC-adherent approach resulted in significant gains in event-free survival for all the outcomes investigated in clinically complex patients. Based on absolute risk reduction at 1 year of follow-up, the number needed to treat for ABC pathway adherence was 24 for all-cause death, 31 for MACEs and 20 for the composite outcome. CONCLUSIONS: An ABC-adherent approach reduces the risk of major outcomes in clinically complex AF patients. Ensuring adherence to the ABC pathway is essential to improve clinical outcomes among clinically complex AF patients

QRS pattern and improvement in right and left ventricular function after cardiac resynchronization therapy: a radionuclide study

Predicting response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) remains a challenge. We evaluated the role of baseline QRS pattern to predict response in terms of improvement in biventricular ejection fraction (EF)

Adherence to the “Atrial Fibrillation Better Care” (ABC) Pathway in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and Cancer: a Report From the ESC-EHRA EURObservational Research Programme in Atrial Fibrillation (EORP-AF) General Long-Term Registry

Background: Implementation of the Atrial fibrillation Better Care (ABC) pathway is recommended by guidelines on atrial fibrillation (AF), but the impact of adherence to ABC pathway in patients with cancer is unknown. Objectives: To investigate the adherence to ABC pathway and its impact on adverse outcomes in AF patients with cancer. Methods: Patients enrolled in the EORP-AF General Long-Term Registry were analyzed according to (i) No Cancer; and (ii) Prior or active cancer and stratified in relation to adherence to the ABC pathway. The composite Net Clinical Outcome (NCO) of all-cause death, major adverse cardiovascular events and major bleeding was the primary endpoint. Results: Among 6550 patients (median age 69 years, females 40.1%), 6005 (91.7%) had no cancer, while 545 (8.3%) had a diagnosis of active or prior cancer at baseline, with the proportions of full adherence to ABC pathway of 30.6% and 25.7%, respectively. Adherence to the ABC pathway was associated with a significantly lower occurrence of the primary outcome vs. non-adherence, both in 'no cancer' and 'cancer' patients [adjusted Hazard Ratio (aHR) 0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.66-0.92 and aHR 0.59, 95% CI 0.37-0.96, respectively]. Adherence to a higher number of ABC criteria was associated with a lower risk of the primary outcome, being lowest when 3 ABC criteria were fulfilled (no cancer: aHR 0.54, 95%CI: 0.36-0.81; with cancer: aHR 0.32, 95% CI 0.13-0.78). Conclusion: In AF patients with cancer enrolled in the EORP-AF General Long-Term Registry, adherence to ABC pathway was sub-optimal. Full adherence to ABC-pathway was associated with a lower risk of adverse events.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio