Atherosclerosis begins in the teenage years and progresses over time in susceptible individuals. It is unknown, however, whether coronary angiography in middle-aged adults showing no evidence of atherosclerosis identifies individuals at low risk for subsequent development of coronary artery disease (CAD). We identified 4068 patients ≥40 years of age who had at least two coronary angiograms between January 1, 1990 and March 31, 2011. Of these, 227 patients (5.8%) had no CAD and 251 patients (6.4%) had mild atherosclerotic disease (stenosis <30%) on the initial angiogram. Patients in the normal-angiogram group were younger, more often female, and less likely to use tobacco than patients in the mild-atherosclerosis group, while rates of diabetes and hypertension were the same. Angiographic evidence of any CAD and obstructive CAD was apparent in 26% and 4.8%, respectively of the normal-angiogram group on subsequent angiography performed 75 ± 46 months later. Myocardial infarction and revascularization occurred in 4.8% and 3.5%, respectively. Progression of CAD (odds ratio ≤ 10.2), development of obstructive CAD (odds ratio ≤ 8.9), myocardial infarction (odds ratio ≤ 2.7), and revascularization (odds ratio ≤ 8.4) were more frequent in the mild-atherosclerosis group. In summary, 26% of middle-aged adults with a normal coronary angiogram who had subsequent angiography for clinical reasons developed CAD, although the annual rates of myocardial infarction or revascularization were very low. Even mild atherosclerosis on the initial angiogram increased the rate of progression of CAD by 10-fold and the rate of revascularization by 8-fold.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of patients have coronary angiograms performed in the United States. The Impella is a percutaneous ventricular support device that provides hemodynamic support for patients if hemodynamic instability occurs during the procedure. The critical care nurse is responsible for the recovery and management of the patient with the Impella device in place. The purpose of this scholarly project is to provide registered nurses (RN) who have not previously managed the Impella device with the appropriate education in order to demonstrate competency. The program demonstrated improved RN knowledge about the Impella and increased confidence when managing the Impella device and controller. King's goal attainment theory was used as a framework to develop nurse-patient collaboration. Kirkpatrick's 4-level training evaluation model provided the framework for evaluation of the RN educational program. The sources of evidence included literature and an expert panel that was recruited to evaluate the material prior to implementation of the educational program. The data were analyzed by comparing the results of the preeducational and posteducational questionnaires. The paired t test demonstrated statistical significance based on the scores from the pre- and post-tests taken by the RNs before and after the Impella educational program as p < .001. Increased RN confidence was demonstrated by p < .001, while a change in RN attitude towards the Impella established improvement by p < .001. Providing professional development opportunities has been shown to benefit RNs to allow the delivery of safe care while allowing for positive social change by impacting patient lifestyle and outcomes.

Position du problème. L’arrêt cardiaque extra-hospitalier (ACEH), dont la forme clinique la plus caricaturale correspond à la « mort subite », représenterait la première cause de mortalité à travers le monde. Malgré les améliorations apportées à leur prise en charge, le pronostic de ces patients demeure très péjoratif, y compris chez ceux qui ont bénéficié d’une réanimation initiale avec succès. En effet, la longue période d’ischémie suivie du phénomène de reperfusion secondaire au retour d’une activité circulatoire (RACS) est à l’origine d’une cascade de phénomènes physiopathologiques qui caractérisent le syndrome post-arrêt cardiaque. Plusieurs éléments thérapeutiques, telles que la reperfusion coronaire précoce et l’hypothermie thérapeutique, se sont développés ces dernières années afin de diminuer la morbi-mortalité importante observée dans cette situation. L’intérêt de ces interventions précoces sur le pronostic ultérieur demeure cependant débattu, car il a souvent été établi sur des sous-groupes de patients très sélectionnés. Objectif. L’objectif de ce travail était d’évaluer l’influence de ces interventions thérapeutiques précoces sur le devenir des patients victimes d’ACEH et admis vivants en service de réanimation. Méthode. Depuis 2000, une cohorte de patients survivants d’ACR et admis vivants en réanimation a été constituée dans un centre spécialisé. L’ensemble des caractéristiques démographiques, pré-hospitalières et hospitalières ont été analysées. L’analyse multivariée des facteurs pronostiques dans cette cohorte a utilisé principalement les méthodes de régression logistique. Résultats principaux. Entre 2003 et 2008, 435 patients ont été admis, ne présentaient pas d’étiologie extra-cardiaque évidente et ont bénéficié d’une coronarographie immédiate et systématique. Une lésion coronaire récente a été observée chez près de la moitié d’entre eux. Les moyens de détection d’une étiologie cardiaque sont extrêmement limités que ce soit par des modèles prédictifs simples utilisant des paramètres démographiques ou circonstancielles ou par des paramètres para-cliniques tels que l’électrocardiogramme ou les enzymes cardiaques. En effet, ces derniers possèdent des valeurs prédictives médiocres et ne peuvent être considérés comme outil de triage de ces patients. En revanche, la coronarographie immédiate et systématique (suivie d’une reperfusion coronaire si nécessaire) était associée de manière significative et indépendante à la survie hospitalière (OR ajusté= 2.06 (1.16-3.66)) et ceci quelque soit l’aspect électrocardiographique. Entre 2000 et 2009, 1145 patients ont été admis et 2/3 d’entre eux ont été traités par hypothermie thérapeutique. Parmi eux, 708/1145 (62%) avait initialement un rythme cardiaque choquable et 437/1145 (38%) présentait un rythme non choquable. Après ajustement sur les autres facteurs pronostiques, l’hypothermie thérapeutique avait un rôle protecteur sur le pronostic neurologique des patients à la sortie de réanimation dans le groupe présentant initialement un rythme choquable (OR ajusté= 1.90 (1.18-3.06)). En revanche, l’association entre le pronostic et l’intervention dans le groupe « non-choquable » n’était pas significative (OR ajusté=0.71 (0.37-1.36)). Parmi les facteurs susceptibles d’altérer le bénéfice lié à ce traitement, les complications infectieuses chez les patients traités par hypothermie thérapeutique s’avèrent courantes La plus fréquente est la pneumopathie précoce, dont l’apparition est associée de manière significative au traitement par hypothermie (OR ajusté= 1.90 (1.28-2.80)), mais son rôle sur le pronostic n’est pas démontré. / Background: Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA), usually clinically described as “sudden death”, is the leading worldwide cause of death. Despite recent improvements in management of OHCA, the prognosis of these patients remains very poor, even in those who benefitted from a successful initial resuscitation. During the period of ischemia following the Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC), several pathophysiological phenomenons occur, characterizing the post cardiac arrest syndrome. Furthermore, different treatments, such as immediate coronary reperfusion or therapeutic hypothermia, are now implemented for the management of this syndrome in order to decrease the morbidities and the mortality involved during this period. However, the influence of these hospital interventions on prognosis is still debatable, since they have been assessed in very selected subgroups of patients.Objectives: The aim of our work was to assess the influence of these early interventions on the outcome of OHCA patients admitted alive in intensive care unit (ICU).Method: We set up an investigation cohort (starting in 2000) of OHCA patients, in whom a successful ROSC had been obtained and who were admitted alive in ICU. We gathered all demographic data, cardiac arrest circumstances, pre-hospital and hospital characteristics. We analyzed the different predictive factors of outcome using multivariate analysis, especially logistical regression.Results: Between 2003 and 2008, 435 patients without obvious extra-cardiac cause were included and benefited from an immediate and systematical coronary angiogram. We observed a recent lesion in nearly half of them. Detecting a cardiac etiology is very challenging even using simple predictive models including patient’s baseline characteristics and circumstances of the cardiac arrest. Moreover, other parameters, such as EKG patterns or cardiac biomarkers, did not seem helpful either. Indeed, these parameters had poor predictive values and consequently could not be considered as triage tools for these patients. Nevertheless, the immediate and systematical coronary angiogram, with percutaneous intervention if appropriate, was independently associated with an improvement of hospital survival (adjusted OR= 2.06 (1.16-3.66)), regardless of the EKG pattern.Between 2000 and 2009, 1145 patients were admitted and two third of them were treated with therapeutic hypothermia. Among them, 708/1145 (62%) had an initial shockable rhythm and 437/1145 (38%) presented a non shockable rhythm. On the one hand, after adjustment with other predictive factors, the therapeutic hypothermia significantly improved the good neurological outcome at ICU discharge (adjusted OR= 1.90 (1.18-3.06)). On the other hand, the influence of this intervention was not associated with prognosis on the “non-shockable” sub-group (adjusted OR=0.71 (0.37-1.36)). Among the undercurrent factors, which could minimize the benefit of this intervention, infectious complications in treated patients were common. The most frequent complication was early onset pneumonia, whose occurrence was significantly associated with hypothermia (adjusted OR= 1.90 (1.28-2.80)), even if its role on prognosis was not determined.Conclusions: Our findings support the international guidelines regarding the management of post-cardiac arrest, identifying the subgroups of patients who may benefit the most. These results encourage further prospective studies and randomized trials and bring helpful information in that way. Finally, ancillary analysis on an investigation cohort of hospital survivors suggests that protective