Publications by authors named "Michael Christ"

Background: ST elevation combined with typical chest pain is an indication for acute coronary vascularization and is usually associated with acute myocardial infarction. Herein, we present an unusual case of ST elevation.

Case Presentation: A 57-year-old male patient presented to the emergency department with chest pain radiating to both arms and the back.

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Background: Dengue fever is a common infectious disease in the tropical and subtropical zones, with more than 100 million symptomatic cases per year. Mosquitoes of the genus Aedes (Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopticus) are vectors of the disease, and their spread has led to rising case numbers around the world. Physicians in Europe, too, are increasingly being confronted by this challenge.

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Background: Point-of-care (POC) high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays may further accelerate the diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI).

Objectives: This study sought to assess the clinical and analytical performance of the novel high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI)-SPINCHIP POC test.

Methods: Adult patients presenting with acute chest discomfort to the emergency department were enrolled in an international, diagnostic, multicenter study.

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Background: The myocardial-ischaemic-injury-index (MI) is a novel machine learning algorithm for the early diagnosis of type 1 non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). The performance of MI, both when using early serial blood draws (eg, at 1 h or 2 h) and in direct comparison with guideline-recommended algorithms, remains unknown. Our aim was to externally validate MI and compare its performance with that of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 0/1h-algorithm.

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Diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making in pregnancy with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) is challenging. European and other international professional societies have proposed various recommendations that are ambiguous, probably due to the unavailability of randomized controlled trials. In the following sections, we discuss the supporting diagnostic steps and treatments.

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Streptococcus pyogenes is a human pathogenic, gram positive bacterium that primarily leads to pharyngitis or soft tissue infections. Primary peritonitis caused by S. pyogenes infection is rare and there are only a few published cases worldwide.

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Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound negative impact on the psychological wellbeing of healthcare providers (HPs), but little is known about the factors that positively predict mental health of primary care staff during these dire situations.

Methods: We conducted an online questionnaire survey among 702 emergency department workers across 10 hospitals in Switzerland and Belgium following the first COVID-19 wave in 2020, to explore their psychological vulnerability, perceived concerns, self-reported impact and level of pandemic workplace preparedness. Participants included physicians, nurses, psychologists and nondirect care employees (administrative staff).

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Article Synopsis
  • CoDE-ACS is a machine learning-based clinical decision support tool designed to assess the likelihood of myocardial infarction (MI) using cardiac troponin measurements at various time points.
  • A study involving 4,105 patients across multiple countries found that CoDE-ACS effectively identified a high percentage of low-probability cases for MI, surpassing the performance of established guidelines such as the European Society of Cardiology pathways.
  • The tool maintained a negative predictive value of 99.7% across different time points, suggesting its accuracy in ruling out MI and its potential to improve diagnostic processes in acute coronary syndrome evaluations.
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Article Synopsis
  • Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are common and lead to unnecessary antibiotic use; this study examines a new method to accurately diagnose bacterial pneumonia using clinical scores, lung ultrasound, and a biomarker called procalcitonin (PCT).* -
  • The PLUS-IS-LESS study, conducted in 10 emergency departments in Switzerland, will test the effectiveness of the PLUS algorithm, which combines various diagnostic tools, against standard care to see if it reduces antibiotic prescriptions while keeping patients safe.* -
  • By optimizing antibiotic prescribing through reliable diagnostics and ensuring safety, the PLUS algorithm aims to enhance treatment outcomes and gather data on factors like quality of life, hospital stays, and cost-effectiveness in LRTI cases.*
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Background: The SMART Medical Clearance Form, developed in the USA, is used to standardize the medical evaluation of emergency patients with primarily psychiatric manifestations. The goal of this study was external validation of the use of this form.

Methods: Data were collected retrospectively on emergency patients with psychiatric manifestations.

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Background: The high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) I point-of-care (POC) hs-cTnI-PATHFAST assay has recently become clinically available.

Methods: We aimed to externally validate the hs-cTnI-PATHFAST 0/1h-algorithm recently developed for the early diagnosis of non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and derive and validate a 0/2-algorithm in patients presenting to the emergency department with acute chest discomfort included in a multicenter diagnostic study. Two independent cardiologists centrally adjudicated the final diagnoses using all the clinical and study-specific information available including serial measurements of hs-cTnI-Architect.

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Background: Little is known about patients with cancer presenting with acute chest discomfort to the emergency department (ED).

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), outcomes, and the diagnostic utility of recommended diagnostic tools in this population.

Methods: Patients presenting with chest pain to the ED were prospectively enrolled in an international multicenter diagnostic study with central adjudication.

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Glucose is a universally available inexpensive biomarker, which is increased as part of the physiological stress response to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and may therefore help in its early diagnosis. To test this hypothesis, glucose, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) T, and hs-cTnI were measured in consecutive patients presenting with acute chest discomfort to the emergency department (ED) and enrolled in a large international diagnostic study (NCT00470587). Two independent cardiologists centrally adjudicated the final diagnosis using all clinical data, including serial hs-cTnT measurements, cardiac imaging and clinical follow-up.

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The association between emergency department (ED) length of stay (EDLOS) with in-hospital mortality (IHM) in older patients remains unclear. This retrospective study aims to delineate the relationship between EDLOS and IHM in elderly patients. From the ED patients (n = 383,586) who visited an urban academic tertiary care medical center from January 2010 to December 2016, 78,478 older patients (age ≥60 years) were identified and stratified into three age subgroups: 60-74 (early elderly), 75-89 (late elderly), and ≥90 years (longevous elderly).

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Aims: The presence of accompanying dyspnoea is routinely assessed and common in patients presenting with acute chest pain/discomfort to the emergency department (ED). We aimed to assess the association of accompanying dyspnoea with differential diagnoses, diagnostic work-up, and outcome.

Methods And Results: We enrolled patients presenting to the ED with chest pain/discomfort.

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Study Objective: The diagnostic performance of T-wave amplitudes for the detection of myocardial infarction is largely unknown. We aimed to address this knowledge gap.

Methods: T-wave amplitudes were automatically measured in 12-lead ECGs of patients presenting with acute chest discomfort to the emergency department within a prospective diagnostic multicenter study.

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The effect of emergency department (ED) length of stay (EDLOS) on in-hospital mortality (IHM) remains unclear. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the association between EDLOS and IHM. We searched the PubMed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and Scopus databases from their inception until 14−15 January 2022.

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Background: We aimed to assess the diagnostic utility of the Dimension EXL LOCI High-Sensitivity Troponin I (hs-cTnI-EXL) assay.

Methods: This multicenter study included patients with chest discomfort presenting to the emergency department. Diagnoses were centrally and independently adjudicated by two cardiologists using all available clinical information.

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Aims: After rule-out of non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 0/1 h-algorithms, it is unclear which patients require further anatomical or functional cardiac testing. To test the safety and efficacy of the no-objective-testing (NOT)-rules after NSTEMI rule-out by the ESC 0/1 h-algorithms.

Methods And Results: International, prospective, diagnostic multicentre study enrolling adult patients presenting with chest pain to the emergency department.

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Background: Current American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/Heart Rhythm Society (ACC/AHA/HRS) and European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines recommend different strategies to avoid low-yield admissions in patients with syncope.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to directly compare the safety and efficacy of applying admission criteria of both guidelines to patients presenting with syncope to the emergency department in 2 multicenter studies.

Methods: The international BASEL IX (BAsel Syncope EvaLuation) study (median age 71 years) and the U.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Canadian Syncope Risk Score (CSRS) was tested in an international study to predict serious outcomes within 30 days for patients over 40 who experience syncope and seek emergency care.
  • Among 2,283 participants, the CSRS outperformed the OESIL score in predicting adverse outcomes, with a better area under the curve (AUC) for both primary and secondary outcomes.
  • A simplified version of the CSRS that uses just the clinician's classification of syncope also showed strong predictive ability, raising questions about the necessity of the full score components.
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