Yawn, B.P.

Development and implementation of guidelines in allergic rhinitis - an ARIA-GA2LEN paper (Article)

2010-10-01T00:00:00Z

The links between asthma and rhinitis are well characterized. The Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines stress the importance of these links and provide guidance for their prevention and treatment. Despite effective treatments being available, too few patients receive appropriate medical care for both diseases. Most patients with rhinitis and asthma consult primary care physicians and therefore these physicians are encouraged to understand and use ARIA guidelines. Patients should also be informed about these guidelines to raise their awareness of optimal care and increase control of the two related diseases. To apply these guidelines, clinicians and patients need to understand how and why the recommendations were made. The goal of the ARIA guidelines is to provide recommendations about the best management options for most patients in most situations. These recommendations should be based on the best available evidence. Making recommendations requires the assessment of the quality of available evidence, deciding on the balance between benefits and downsides, consideration of patients' values and preferences, and, if applicable, resource implications. Guidelines must be updated as new management options become available or important new evidence emerges. Transparent reporting of guidelines facilitates understanding and acceptance, but implementation strategies need to be improved.

Trends in incidence, severity, and outcome of hospitalized myocardial infarction (Article)

2010-02-01T00:00:00Z

Background-In 2000, the definition of myocardial infarction (MI) changed to rely on troponin rather than creatine kinase (CK) and its MB fraction (CK-MB). The implications of this change on trends in MI incidence and outcome are not defined. Methods and Results-This was a community study of 2816 patients hospitalized with incident MI from 1987 to 2006 in Olmsted County, Minnesota, with prospective measurements of troponin and CK-MB from August 2000 forward. Outcomes were MI incidence, severity, and survival. After troponin was introduced, 278 (25%) of 1127 incident MIs met only troponin-based criteria. When cases meeting only troponin criteria were included, incidence did not change between 1987 and 2006. When restricted to cases defined by CK/CK-MB, the incidence of MI declined by 20%. The incidence of non-ST-segment elevation MI increased markedly by relying on troponin, whereas that of ST-segment elevation MI declined regardless of troponin. The age-and sex-adjusted hazard ratio of death within 30 days for an infarction occurring in 2006 (compared with 1987) was 0.44 (95% confidence interval, 0.30 to 0.64). Among 30-day survivors, survival did not improve, but causes of death shifted from cardiovascular to noncardiovascular (P=0.001). Trends in long-term survival among 30-day survivors were similar regardless of troponin. Conclusions-Over the last 2 decades, a substantial change in the epidemiology of MI occurred that was only partially mediated by the introduction of troponin. Non-ST-segment elevation MIs now constitute the majority of MIs. Although the 30-day case fatality improved markedly, long-term survival did not change, and the cause of death shifted from cardiovascular to noncardiovascular.

Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) 2008 update (in collaboration with the World Health Organization, GA2LEN and AllerGen) (Article)

2008-04-01T00:00:00Z

Impaired functional status and echocardiographic abnormalities signifying global dysfunction enhance the prognostic significance of previously unrecognized myocardial infarction detected by electrocardiography (Article)

2007-01-01T00:00:00Z

Background: The relationship between electrocardiographic unrecognized myocardial infarction (UMI), abnormal functional status, echocardiographic abnormalities, and mortality has not been evaluated. Methods: A population-based random sample of 2042 Olmsted County residents, age ≥45 years, was studied by self-administered questionnaire, chart review, ECG and echocardiogram, and 5 year follow-up for all-cause mortality. UMI (n = 81) was diagnosed if ECG-MI criteria were met without previous documented myocardial infarction. Functional Status was assessed by the Goldman Specific Activity Scale. Results: UMI subjects had an increased prevalence of abnormal functional status compared to no MI controls (22% vs 11%, P < 0.05). This association was independent of sex, obesity, smoking, diabetes, and pulmonary disease. It became insignificant after stratifying for echocardiographic abnormalities. Compared to no MI controls, UMI subjects with impaired functional status had a higher mortality hazard ratio (HR 7.2; P<0.0001) than those without impaired functional status (HR 2.7; P = 0.02). In UMI subjects with impaired functional status and any echocardiographic abnormality signifying global ventricular dysfunction (systolic or diastolic dysfunction, left atrial or left ventricular enlargement), the mortality risk was even higher (HR 9.5; P<0.001) and persisted in multivariate analyses. This increased mortality risk was unaffected by adjustment for regional wall motion abnormalities. Conclusions: The assessment of impaired functional status and echocardiographic abnormalities improves the prognostic significance of UMI. Even in the absence of regional wall motion abnormalities, structural abnormalities of global dysfunction may play a role in mediating the increased mortality associated with UMI.