Role of cardiac troponin in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction in comatose patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Background: Troponin is a major diagnostic criterion of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) but in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients, its diagnostic value may be altered by cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Methods: Single-centre study assessing the diagnostic characteristics of troponin for AMI diagnosis in consecutive patients resuscitated from OHCA between 2002 and 2008 with coronary angiogram (CA) performed on admission. Patients with obvious non-cardiac cause of OHCA, unsustained or absent return of spontaneous circulation were excluded.

National analysis of sepsis hospitalizations and factors contributing to sepsis in-hospital mortality in Canada.

Sepsis is one of the leading causes of in-hospital mortality in Canada. Patient safety is an important component of sepsis prevention and control. The Canadian Institute for Health Information recently released a report that examines a national picture of sepsis hospitalizations and mortality.

Health indicators 2009: a focus on cardiac care in Canada.

Close to 18,000 Canadians die each year after having had a heart attack. Heart attacks are costly to the system: ischemic heart disease (including heart attacks) cost the Canadian healthcare system $8.1 billion in 2000.