Utilization of diagnostic resources and costs in patients with suspected cardiac chest pain.

Aims: Non-acute chest pain is a common complaint and can be caused by various conditions. With the rising healthcare expenditures of today, it is necessary to use our healthcare resources effectively. This study aims to give insight into the diagnostic effort and costs for patients with non-acute chest pain.

Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction in the Netherlands: room for improvement!

Aim: To analyse non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) care in the Netherlands and to identify modifiable factors to improve NSTEMI healthcare.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study analysed hospital and pharmacy claims data of all NSTEMI patients in the Netherlands in 2015. The effect of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) during hospitalisation on 1‑year mortality was investigated in the subcohort alive 4 days after NSTEMI.

Frailty score for elderly patients is associated with short-term clinical outcomes in patients with ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

Objective: Consistent with the aging population in the Western world, there is a growing number of elderly patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the recommended reperfusion strategy in elderly patients; risk models to determine which of these patients are prone to have poor clinical outcomes are, however, essential. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between frailty and short-term mortality and PCI-related serious adverse events (SAE) in elderly patients.

Mortality differences in acute myocardial infarction patients in the Netherlands: The weekend-effect.

Objective: Several studies have shown that patients admitted with an acute myocardial infarction during the weekends have a higher mortality rate than those admitted during weekdays, possibly attributable to less trained personnel available and a lower use of medical procedures. The current study aimed to assess this ‘weekend-effect’ in a nationwide registry.

Methods: In the Netherlands, all inhabitants are, by law, obliged to have health insurance and all claim data are centrally registered.

Privacy of patient data in quality-of-care registries in cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery: the impact of the new general data protection regulation EU-law.

Quality-of-care registries have been shown to improve quality of healthcare and should be facilitated and encouraged. The data of these registries are also very valuable for medical data research. While fully acknowledging the importance of re-using already available data for research purposes, there are concerns about how the applicable privacy legislation is dealt with.