Association between subjective descriptors of coronary pain and disease characteristics: a pilot study in a Hellenic rural population.

Purpose: We explored whether the way Hellenic patients describe their cardiac chest pain (verbal descriptions of the nature, intensity, temporal quality, location and radiation) associates with the diagnosis [acute myocardial infarction (AMI) versus unstable angina (UA)] as well as with the location of the coronary lesions.

Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design was employed to study 80 consecutive coronary care patients (44 with AMI, 36 with UA) from northwestern Hellas.

Results: Pain intensity did not differ significantly between AMI and UA, in contrast to treatment-seeking behaviour and accompanying symptoms (p< or =0.

Afternoon nap, meal ingestion and circadian variation of acute myocardial infarction.

A two-peaked circadian variation in acute myocardial infarction has been demonstrated, with a morning peak attributed to physiological changes produced by nocturnal sleep. To investigate the causes of the secondary peak, we compared meal habits and circadian variation in patients with acute myocardial infarction who were accustomed to afternoon naps (group A) to those who were not (group B). One hundred and fifty two patients formed group A and 65 group B.

[Cost analysis of twenty-nine nuclear medicine procedures].

The aim of this study was to compare actual cost estimates for diagnostic procedures as applied in the nuclear medicine department of our University Hospital, with cost estimates obtained through an analytical activity-based costing methodology. Activity data on the use of twenty-nine nuclear medicine procedures were collected. The actual hospital prices for the fiscal years of 2003-2004 were obtained from the Accounting Department of the Hospital.