A rheumatology perspective on cutaneous vasculitis: assessment and investigation for the non-rheumatologist.

Vasculitis, by definition, is inflammation of the vasculature. This inflammation can result in either vessel wall destruction causing aneurysm or rupture, or stenosis causing ischaemia or necrosis. This autoimmune response does not always have a clear cause.

Comparison of two clinical scoring systems in risk stratification of non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome patients in predicting 30-day outcomes.

Background: Non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTEACS) confer a broad range of risk of adverse outcomes following presentation to an emergency department. This study compares the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk scoring system with the used but untested, Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales Cardiac Network (CMNW) NSTEACS risk stratification system in predicting the adverse outcomes of re-admission to hospital with either a NSTEACS or death at 30 days post presentation.

Method: Once a diagnosis of NSTEACS was made, patients were risk scored, then case notes were retrieved 30 days later.