How do patients with chest pain access Emergency Department care?

Background: It is important that patients with symptoms of acute coronary syndrome receive appropriate medical care as soon as possible. Little is known about the preadmission actions that patients with chest pain take before arrival at the Emergency Department (ED).

Objective: This study aimed to describe the actions of patients with chest pain or pressure after onset of symptoms.

Spiritual history taking in palliative home care: A cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: Many health-care providers experience barriers to addressing spiritual needs, such as not having the right vocabulary. The ars moriendi model might be a feasible tool for spiritual history taking in palliative care.

Aim: To investigate the effect of a structured spiritual history taking on the spiritual well-being of palliative patients in home care.

The Ars Moriendi Model for Spiritual Assessment: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation.

Purpose/objectives: To explore nurses' and physicians' experiences with the ars moriendi model (AMM) for spiritual assessment.

Design: Convergent, parallel, mixed-methods.

Setting: Palliative home care in Belgium.

Heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) in patients in an emergency department setting, suspected of acute coronary syndrome: optimal cut-off point, diagnostic value and future opportunities in primary care.

Background: Most patients presenting chest complaints in primary care are referred to secondary care facilities, whereas only a few are diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Objective: The aim is to determine the optimal cut-off value for a point-of-care heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) test in patients presenting to the emergency department and to evaluate a possible future role of H-FABP in safely ruling out ACS in primary care.

Methods: Serial plasma H-FABP (index test) and high sensitivity troponin T (hs-cTnT) (reference test) were determined in patients with any new-onset chest complaint.

Current and future use of point-of-care tests in primary care: an international survey in Australia, Belgium, The Netherlands, the UK and the USA.

Objective: Despite the growing number of point-of-care (POC) tests available, little research has assessed primary care clinician need for such tests. We therefore aimed to determine which POC tests they actually use or would like to use (if not currently available in their practice).

Design: Cross-sectional survey.