Search

Daniel Hertzberg,1,2 Yauheni Luksha,3,* Ismail Kus,3,* Parto Eslampia,3 John W Pickering,4 Martin J Holzmann1,3 1Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden; 2Department of Perioperative Medicine and Intensive Care, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden; 3Functional Area of Emergency Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden; 4Department of Medicine, University of Otago Christchurch, and Emergency Department Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Daniel HertzbergDepartment of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna SE-171 76, Stockholm, SwedenTel +46 8 517 70000 Fax +46 8 517 75810Email daniel.hertzberg@ki.seBackground: There has been a growing interest in measuring gait speed for assessing long-term mortality and risk for hospital readmission in different populations.Objective: We studied the association between a 10-meter gait speed test at hospital discharge and the risk for 30- and 90-day hospital readmission or death in a mixed population of patients hospitalized for emergency care.Patients and Methods: Patients were prospectively included from 5 wards at the Karolinska University Hospital. The 10-meter gait speed test was measured on the day of discharge. Statistical analysis was performed using logistic regression.Results: A total of 344 patients were included. Forty-one patients (n=41) were readmitted to hospital or died within 30 days, and 81 were readmitted or died within 90 days after discharge. Readmitted patients were older and had more comorbidities. A 0.1 m/s reduction in gait speed was associated with a 13% greater odds of readmission or death within 30 days (OR 1.13 [95% CI 1.00– 1.26]). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.59 (95% CI 0.51– 0.68). The results were similar for 90-day readmission or death where a 0.1 m/s decrement in gait speed was associated with an OR of 1.13 (95% CI 1.04– 1.24). When age, eGFR, hemoglobin concentration, and active cancer, which all were univariate predictors of 30-day readmissions, were added to the model it yielded an AUC of 0.68 (95% CI 0.60 to 0.77).Conclusion: In a mixed population of patients hospitalized for emergency care, low gait speed at discharge was associated with an increased risk of 30- and 90-day readmission or death. However, the test did not discriminate well between those who were readmitted or died and those who did not; therefore we do not recommend its use as a stand-alone test in this population.Keywords: gait speed, patient readmission, hospitalization

Carbon dots have attracted widespread interest for sensing applications based on their low cost, ease of synthesis, and robust optical properties. We investigate structure-function evolution on multiemitter fluorescence patterns for model carbon-nitride dots (CNDs) and their implications on trace-level sensing. Hydrothermally synthesized CNDs with different reaction times were used to determine how specific functionalities and their corresponding fluorescence signatures respond upon the addition of trace-level analytes. Archetype explosives molecules were chosen as a testbed due to similarities in substituent groups or inductive properties (i.e., electron withdrawing), and solution-based assays were performed using ratiometric fluorescence excitation-emission mapping (EEM). Analyte-specific quenching and enhancement responses were observed in EEM landscapes that varied with the CND reaction time. We then used self-organizing map models to examine EEM feature clustering with specific analytes. The results reveal that interactions between carbon-nitride frameworks and molecular-like species dictate response characteristics that may be harnessed to tailor sensor development for specific applications.

Objectives. There is a paucity of data regarding the association between the use of high-sensitivity troponin (hs-cTn) compared with conventional troponin (cTn) and outcomes in chest pain patients in emergency departments (EDs). This study examined the impact of hs-cTnT on prognosis in chest pain patients in EDs. Design. In an observational cohort study, we included chest pain patients visiting the EDs of 14 hospitals in Sweden from 2011 to 2016. The study population was retrieved from each hospital, and information on characteristics and outcomes was collected from nationwide registries. Cox regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals (HR, 95% CI) for (1) 1-year all-cause mortality, (2) missed acute coronary syndromes (ACSs), (3) use of coronary angiography, and (4) revascularizations within 30 days. Results. We included 170461 patients with chest pain where 62669 patients were tested with cTn while 107792 patients were tested with hs-cTnT. We found 4149 (4.6%) deaths in the cTn group and 6087 (3.7%) deaths in the hs-cTnT group. Patients in the hs-cTnT group had 9% lower mortality (0.91, 0.87-0.94), and were 14% more likely to undergo coronary angiography (1.14, 1.10-1.17), and 12% more likely to be revascularized (1.12, 1.08-1.17) than patients in the cTn group. Conclusions. Patients with chest pain visiting EDs using hs-cTnT had lower mortality and a higher likelihood of undergoing coronary angiographies and revascularizations than those using cTn. There may be a survival benefit of being tested with hs-cTnT compared with cTn in patients seeking medical attention for chest pain.

Background: Patients who experience acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are at risk of recurrent AMI. Contemporary data on recurrent AMI and its association with return emergency department (ED) visits for chest pain are needed., Methods: This Swedish retrospective cohort study linked patient-level data from six participating hospitals to four national registers to construct the Stockholm Area Chest Pain Cohort (SACPC). The AMI cohort included SACPC participants visiting the ED for chest pain diagnosed with AMI and discharged alive (first primary diagnosis of AMI during the study period not necessarily the patient's first AMI). The rate and timing of recurrent AMI events, return ED visits for chest pain and all-cause mortality were determined during the year following index AMI discharge., Results: Among 1 37 706 patients presenting to the ED with chest pain as principal complaint from 2011 to 2016, 5.5% (7579/137 706) were hospitalised with AMI. In total, 98.5% (7467/7579) of patients were discharged alive. In the year following index AMI discharge, 5.8% (432/7467) of AMI patients experienced ≥1 recurrent AMI event. Return ED visits for chest pain occurred in 27.0% (2017/7467) of index AMI survivors. During a return ED visit, recurrent AMI was diagnosed in 13.6% (274/2017) of patients. One-year all-cause mortality was 3.1% in the AMI cohort and 11.6% in the recurrent AMI cohort., Conclusions: In this AMI population, 3 in 10 AMI survivors returned to the ED for chest pain in the year following AMI discharge. Furthermore, over 10% of patients with return ED visits were diagnosed with recurrent AMI during that visit. This study confirms the high residual ischaemic risk and associated mortality among AMI survivors., Competing Interests: Competing interests: TA has received consulting fees from Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd. for statistical processing. MLD is an employee of Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and receives stock unrelated to this publication. SR is an employee of Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and receives stock unrelated to this publication., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Cycloalkynes and their utilization in cycloaddition reactions enable modular strategies spanning the molecular sciences. Strain─imparted by deviation from linearity─enables sufficient alkyne reactivity without the need for a catalyst ( e.g. , copper); however, the design and synthesis of stable reagents with suitable reactivity remains an ongoing challenge. We report the incorporation of an endocyclic sulfate within a dibenzocyclononyne scaffold to generate a cyclononyne displaying remarkable reactivity and stability. Through computational analyses, we revealed that the endocyclic sulfate group shares nearly half the total strain energy, providing an activation strategy that reduces alkyne bending. Rehybridization of alkyne carbons in the formation of the heterocyclic product relieves strain both at the reactive site and in the transannular sulfate group. This mode of remote activation enables rapid reactivity while minimizing distortion─and strain─at the reactive site (the alkyne). The result: a design strategy for a new class of cycloalkynes with increased stability and reactivity.

Background: Diabetes and prediabetes are known risk factors for cardiovascular disease and associated with increased mortality risk. Whether patients with a random elevated blood glucose level but no history of diabetes are at a higher mortality and cardiovascular risk is not entirely known., Methods: A retrospective cohort study where patients (18-80 years) with no history of diabetes between 2006 and 2016 attending the emergency department (ED) in Sweden were included. Based on the first (index) blood glucose level patients were categorized into four groups: hypoglycemia (< 3.9 mmol/L), normal glucose tolerance (NGT) (3.9-7.8 mmol/L), dysglycemia (7.8-11.1 mmol/L), and hyperglycemia (> 11.1 mmol/L). Data was collected from four nationwide registers (National Patient Register, National Cause of Death Register, Prescribed Drug Register and Statistics Sweden). Cox regression was used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular outcomes using NGT as reference., Results: 618,694 patients were included during a mean follow-up time of 3.9 years. According to the index blood glucose level: 1871 (0.3%) had hypoglycemia, 525,636 (85%) had NGT, 77,442 (13%) had dysglycemia, and 13,745 (2%) patients had hyperglycemia, respectively. During follow-up 44,532 (7.2%) deaths occurred. After multiple adjustments, mortality risk was highest in patients with hypoglycemia HR 2.58 (2.26-2.96) followed by patients with hyperglycemia HR 1.69 (1.63-1.76) and dysglycemia HR 1.16 (1.13-1.19). Risk for cardiovascular events: i.e., myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure, were highest among patients with hyperglycemia HR 2.28 (2.13-2.44), HR 1.62 (1.51-1.74) and HR 1.60 (1.46-1.75), respectively., Conclusion: Patients with disturbed blood glucose level at ED admission have a higher mortality risk than patients with NGT. Patients with hyperglycemia have almost a two folded increased long-term mortality risk and more than a doubled risk for cardiovascular events compared to patients with NGT., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Myocardial infarction diagnosis is a common challenge in the emergency department. In managed settings, deep learning-based models and especially convolutional deep models have shown promise in electrocardiogram (ECG) classification, but there is a lack of high-performing models for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction in real-world scenarios. We aimed to train and validate a deep learning model using ECGs to predict myocardial infarction in real-world emergency department patients. We studied emergency department patients in the Stockholm region between 2007 and 2016 that had an ECG obtained because of their presenting complaint. We developed a deep neural network based on convolutional layers similar to a residual network. Inputs to the model were ECG tracing, age, and sex; and outputs were the probabilities of three mutually exclusive classes: non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), and control status, as registered in the SWEDEHEART and other registries. We used an ensemble of five models. Among 492,226 ECGs in 214,250 patients, 5,416 were recorded with an NSTEMI, 1,818 a STEMI, and 485,207 without a myocardial infarction. In a random test set, our model could discriminate STEMIs/NSTEMIs from controls with a C-statistic of 0.991/0.832 and had a Brier score of 0.001/0.008. The model obtained a similar performance in a temporally separated test set of the study sample, and achieved a C-statistic of 0.985 and a Brier score of 0.002 in discriminating STEMIs from controls in an external test set. We developed and validated a deep learning model with excellent performance in discriminating between control, STEMI, and NSTEMI on the presenting ECG of a real-world sample of the important population of all-comers to the emergency department. Hence, deep learning models for ECG decision support could be valuable in the emergency department., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background The prognostic implications of temporal change of previously stable high-sensitivity cardiac troponin concentrations are unknown. We investigated the prognosis associated with temporal changes of stable high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) concentrations. Methods and Results All patients presenting with cardiac symptoms and ≥2 hs-cTnT measurements at the time of their first visit to 7 different emergency departments in Sweden between December 9, 2009, and December 31, 2016, were identified (n=66 159). We included all patients with stable hs-cTnT but no acute coronary syndrome diagnosis who had ≥1 hs-cTnT measured also at a second visit >30 days from the first visit. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs were calculated for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events according to temporal change of hs-cTnT between the visits, using patients without myocardial injury (<15 ng/L) at the first visit and persistently stable hs-cTnT at the second visit as the reference. Altogether, 12 869 patients were included, of whom 5191 (40%) had myocardial injury (hs-cTnT ≥15 ng/L). During a median follow-up of 2.3 (interquartile range, 1.4-3.7) years, 3271 (25%) patients died. In patients with myocardial injury and a temporal increase in hs-cTnT, the adjusted all-cause and cardiovascular mortality was 4- and 5-fold elevated (HR, 4.21; 95% CI, 3.55-5.00; and HR, 5.08; 95% CI, 3.73-6.92), and the adjusted risk of heart failure hospitalization almost 3-fold (HR, 2.77; 95% CI, 2.26-3.39). Conclusions Temporal change of previously stable hs-cTnT is associated with the risk of death and cardiovascular outcomes, with highest risks observed in patients with myocardial injury and increasing hs-cTnT.

It is unknown whether outcomes in patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP) and myocardial injury are different from outcomes in patients with non-ST-segment myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) with low peak concentrations of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT). This study aimed to compare the prognosis in patients with UAP and evidence of myocardial injury, with prognosis in patients with NSTEMI and different peak hs-cTnT concentrations. All visits to 7 different emergency departments in Sweden from December 9, 2009 to December 31, 2016 were identified (n = 5,225,075). We included all hospitalized patients with hs-cTnT >14 ng/L and a diagnosis of UAP or NSTEMI, with ≥2 hours-cTnT measurements. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events, in patients with NSTEMI categorized according to peak hs-cTnT concentrations, compared with patients with UAP. Altogether, 11,944 patients were included, of whom 1,253 (10%) received a diagnosis of UAP. During a median follow-up of 3.0 years (interquartile [IQR] 1.6 to 4.7), 3,297 patients died. There was no difference comparing patients with NSTEMI with peak hs-cTnT of 15 to 49 ng/L to patients with UAP, with regards to long-term cardiovascular mortality (HR 1.15; 95% CI, 0.85 to 1.56), but the risk of recurrent myocardial infarction was higher in patients with NSTEMI (HR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.29 to 2.00), and the risk of heart failure hospitalization slightly lower (HR 0.80, 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.99). In conclusion, patients with UAP and myocardial injury have a similar risk of death after discharge, but a lower risk of recurrent myocardial infarction and a marginally higher risk of heart failure, compared with patients with NSTEMI with moderately elevated hs-cTnT levels., Competing Interests: Disclosures MJH received consultancy honoraria from Idorsia and Pfizer. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Additional information: Dr. Holzmann passed away during the final preparation of this manuscript., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Women have a worse prognosis after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery compared to men. We sought to quantify to what extent this difference in post-CABG survival could be attributed to sex itself, or whether this was mediated by difference between men and women at the time of intervention. Additionally, we explored to what extent these effects were homogenous across patient subgroups., Methods: Time to all-cause mortality was available for 102,263 CABG patients, including 20,988 (21%) women, sourced through an individual participant data meta-analysis of five cohort studies. Difference between men and women in survival duration was assessed using Kaplan-Meier estimates, and Cox's proportional hazards model., Results: During a median follow-up of 5 years, 13,598 (13%) patients died, with women more likely to die than men: female HR 1.20 (95%CI 1.16; 1.25). We found that differences in patient characteristics at the time of CABG procedure mediated this sex effect, and accounting for these resulted in a neutral female HR 0.98 (95%CI 0.94; 1.02). Next we performed a priori defined subgroup analyses of the five most prominent mediators: age, creatinine, peripheral vascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and heart failure. We found that women without peripheral vascular disease (PVD) or women aged 70+, survived longer than men (interaction p -values 0.04 and 6 × 10 -5 , respectively), with an effect reversal in younger women., Conclusion: Sex differences in post-CABG survival were readily explained by difference in patient characteristics and comorbidities. Pre-planned analyses revealed patient subgroups (aged 70+, or without PVD) of women that survived longer than men, and a subgroup of younger women with comparatively poorer survival., Competing Interests: MH has received honoraria from Idorsia not related to this study. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Schmidt, Haitjema, Sartipy, Holzmann, Malenka, Ross, van Gilst, Rouleau, Meeder, Baker, Shiomi, Kimura, Tran, Smith, Reid, Asselbergs and den Ruijter.)

Objective: To assess sex differences in short- and long-term mortality in patients who develop acute kidney injury (AKI) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)., Design: An observational cohort study., Setting: A multicenter, nationwide, population-based, observational cohort study., Participants: All patients (n = 32,013) who underwent primary nonemergent isolated CABG in Sweden between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2013., Interventions: AKI and its association with 90-day mortality were analyzed using logistic regression. AKI and its association with long-term mortality were analyzed using Cox regression analysis., Measurements and Main Results: AKI was defined as an absolute increase by 26 µmol/L or a relative increase by 50% postoperatively compared with the preoperative serum creatinine concentration. Ninety-day mortality was defined as death by any cause within 90 days after surgery. Long-term mortality was defined as death by any cause from day 91 after surgery to the end of the study period. In total, 13.9% of women and 14.4% of men developed AKI after CABG. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval [CI]) for death within 90 days in patients with AKI compared to those without AKI was 5.1 (3.6-7.2) and 5.2 (4.2-6.6) in women and men, respectively (p for interaction = 0.74). The multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio (95% CI) for long-term death in those with AKI compared to those without AKI was 1.4 (1.2-1.7) and 1.3 (1.2-1.4) in women and men, respectively (p for interaction = 0.27)., Conclusion: AKI after CABG was associated with a similar increase in 90-day and long-term mortality in both women and men., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Dr. Holzmann received consultancy honoraria from Pfizer, Actelion, and Idorsia. The remaining authors have no disclosures to report., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: The clinical usefulness of historical concentrations of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) is unknown. This study investigated the ability to rule out myocardial infarction (MI) with the use of historical hs-cTnT concentrations among patients with chest pain in the emergency department (ED)., Methods and Results: The derivation cohort consisted of patients presenting with chest pain to nine different EDs (n = 60 071), where we included those with ≥1 hs-cTnT analysed at the index visit and ≥1 hs-cTnT results prior to the visit. We developed an algorithm to rule out MI within 30 days with a pre-specified target negative predictive value (NPV) of ≥99.5%. The performance was then validated in a separate cohort of ED chest pain patients (n = 10 994). A historical hs-cTnT < 12 ng/L and a < 3 ng/L absolute change between the historical and the index visit hs-cTnT had the best performance and ruled out 24 862 (41%) patients in the derivation cohort. In the validation cohort, these criteria identified 4764 (43%) low-risk patients in whom 18 (0.4%) MIs within 30 days occurred, and had an NPV for MI of 99.6% (99.4-99.8), a sensitivity of 96.9% (95.2-.2), and an LR- of 0.11 (0.07-0.14)., Conclusion: Combining a historical hs-cTnT with a single new hs-cTnT may safely rule out MI and thereby reduce the need for serial hs-cTnT measurements in ED patients with chest pain., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2022. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective: Coronary angiography (CA) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is of great importance during non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) management. Coronary artery lesions and their association to mortality in elderly patients with NSTEMI was investigated., Methods: Patients >80 years of age who underwent CA at index NSTEMI during 2011-2014 were included. Data were collected from the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry and Swedish Web-system for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-based care in Heart disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies registries. Coronary lesions were categorised into; one vessel disease (1VD), multi-vessel disease (MVD) and left main disease (LMD) and 0%-49% stenosis grade were considered as controls.Cox regression was used to estimate HRs for all-cause mortality associated with coronary lesions. Survival benefit was determined after PCI and in relation to if revascularisation was complete or incomplete and any complications in the Cath lab was assessed., Results: Five thousand seven hundred and seventy patients with history of CA and PCI were included, 10% had normal coronary arteries, 26% had 1VD, 50% MVD and 14% LMD. Mortality was higher in patients with 1VD, MVD and LMD: HR 1.8 (1.3-2.5), HR 2.2 (1.6-3.0) and HR 2.8 (2.1-3.9), respectively. PCI were treated in 84% of 1VD, 73% MVD, and 54% in LMD. Survival was higher with PCI HR 0.85 (0.73-0.99). MVD had lower adjusted mortality HR 0.71 (0.58-0.87) compared with patients with MVD who did not undergo PCI. Complications and mortality were higher in patients with LMD both during CA and PCI, HR 2.9 (1.1-7.6) and HR 4.5 (1.6-12.5)., Conclusion: Coronary lesions (>50% stenosis) are strong predictors of mortality in elderly patients with NSTEMI. MVD is common and PCI treatment is associated with increased survival., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: No guideline-directed pharmacological therapy has been established for patients with myocardial injury without type 1 myocardial infarction. We investigated the impact of statin treatment in patients with myocardial injury., Methods: Patients with myocardial injury (nonischemic acute and chronic myocardial injury), type 2 myocardial infarction, and type 1 myocardial infarction with at least 1 emergency department visit for chest pain from 2011 to 2014 were included. Dispensed prescriptions of all types of statins with dosage within 180 days from the index visit were collected. In total, 2054 patients were divided into 3 groups: 1) acute myocardial injury (type 2 myocardial infarction, acute nonischemic myocardial injury), 2) chronic myocardial injury, and 3) type 1 myocardial infarction. We estimated the adjusted hazard ratio with 95% confidence interval for death with low- (reference), moderate-, and high-intensity statin therapy., Results: The mean follow-up was 4.2 ± 1.8 years. Only 13% of patients with acute and chronic myocardial injury and 30% with type 1 myocardial infarction were treated with high-intensity statins. Adjusted mortality rates were higher in patients with acute and chronic myocardial injury than in those with type 1 myocardial infarction across all statin intensity categories. In patients with type 1 myocardial infarction, the adjusted mortality risk was 20% (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% confidence interval, 0.36-1.77) lower in patients with high-intensity therapy. Point estimates in the adjusted models indicated similar associations between statin intensity and mortality risk in patients with acute and chronic myocardial injury., Conclusion: Patients with myocardial injury may benefit from high-intensity statin treatment, but the associations were not statistically significant when adjusting for confounders., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Chronic myocardial injury is defined by stable high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) levels above the 99th percentile value, which may be a sign of a biologically aged heart. This study investigated the association between frailty and chronic myocardial injury., Methods: In a cohort of patients with chest pain and stable hs-cTnT levels measured 2011-2014, we included all patients who were assessed by two scoring systems measuring frailty. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were calculated to estimate the risk of frailty at different hs-cTnT levels (referent: hs-cTnT ≤ 14 ng/l). Cox regression was used to estimate risks of death and cardiovascular events in relation to frailty status and hs-cTnT levels (referent: non-frail and hs-cTnT ≤ 14 ng/l)., Results: A total of 979 patients were included, of whom 269 (27%) had chronic myocardial injury. The risk of being frail was almost four times higher in patients with chronic myocardial injury, compared with patients in the reference group (hs-cTnT ≥ 30 ng/l: OR: 3.69, 95% CI: 2.02-6.76). During a follow-up of 4.3 years, 275 (28%) patients died. Mortality risks increased with increasing hs-cTnT levels and degree of frailty, being increased four-fold in frail patients with hs-cTnT levels ≥ 30 ng/l (HR: 4.07, 95% CI: 2.42-6.86)., Conclusions: Stable hs-cTnT levels are associated with the degree of frailty, and frailty measurements could help to identify patients with stable hs-cTnT levels who are at a high risk of death. The findings support the hypothesis that chronic myocardial injury could be a marker of a biologically aged heart., Competing Interests: MJH holds research positions funded by the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (grant 20170804) and the Stockholm County Council (grant 20170686), and received consultancy honoraria from Idorsia and Pfizer. The sponsors had no role in the design or conduct of this study. LSS and AR report none., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background Electrical cardioversion (ECV) is routinely used to restore sinus rhythm in patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation. The European guidelines have been updated in recent years. Current information on differences in the risk for stroke after acute versus elective ECV is lacking. Methods And Results All patients with a first-time acute or elective ECV in the Stockholm regional health care data warehouse from 2011 to 2018 were included. Cox regression analyses were performed evaluating ischemic or unspecified stroke within 30 days after ECV with adjustments for the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score, medical treatment, and year of inclusion. The study included 9139 patients, 3094 after acute and 6045 after elective ECV. The mean age was 65.9±11.3 years, 69.5% were men, and the mean CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score was 2.4±1.7. Before the intervention, 49.6% of patients with an acute ECV and 96.4% of those with an elective ECV had claimed an oral anticoagulant prescription. Ischemic or unspecified stroke occurred in 26 (0.28%) patients within 30 days. The unadjusted risk was higher after acute compared with elective ECV (hazard ratio [HR], 2.29; 95% CI, 1.06-4.96), whereas there was no difference after multivariable adjustments (adjusted HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.36-2.72). Both non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (adjusted HR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.08-0.98) and warfarin (adjusted HR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.05-0.53) were associated with a lower risk for stroke compared with no anticoagulation. Conclusions Acute ECV was associated with a higher unadjusted risk for stroke than elective ECV, but the risk was similar after adjustment for anticoagulant treatment. This study indicates the importance of anticoagulation before ECV according to recent European guidelines.

Aims: The Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score was developed to evaluate risk in patients with myocardial infarction. However, its performance in type 2 myocardial infarction is uncertain., Methods and Results: In two cohorts of consecutive patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome from 10 hospitals in Scotland (n = 48 282) and a tertiary care hospital in Sweden (n = 22 589), we calculated the GRACE 2.0 score to estimate death at 1 year. Discrimination was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC), and compared for those with an adjudicated diagnosis of type 1 and type 2 myocardial infarction using DeLong's test. Type 1 myocardial infarction was diagnosed in 4981 (10%) and 1080 (5%) patients in Scotland and Sweden, respectively. At 1 year, 720 (15%) and 112 (10%) patients died with an AUC for the GRACE 2.0 score of 0.83 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.82-0.85] and 0.85 (95% CI 0.81-0.89). Type 2 myocardial infarction occurred in 1121 (2%) and 247 (1%) patients in Scotland and Sweden, respectively, with 258 (23%) and 57 (23%) deaths at 1 year. The AUC was 0.73 (95% CI 0.70-0.77) and 0.73 (95% CI 0.66-0.81) in type 2 myocardial infarction, which was lower than for type 1 myocardial infarction in both cohorts (P < 0.001 and P = 0.008, respectively)., Conclusion: The GRACE 2.0 score provided good discrimination for all-cause death at 1 year in patients with type 1 myocardial infarction, and moderate discrimination for those with type 2 myocardial infarction., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01852123., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: Disturbances of glucose metabolism can be diagnosed by an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and by glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between newly detected disturbances of glucose metabolism and long-term prognosis after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to compare the predictive value of an OGTT and HbA1c., Methods: Patients under the age of 80 years with no known history of diabetes admitted for AMI at the Department of Cardiology, Danderyd University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden, from January 1st, 2006 until December 31st, 2013, were investigated with an OGTT and a HbA1c before discharge and were classified as having normal glucose tolerance (NGT), prediabetes or diabetes according to American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria. Using nationwide, all-inclusive registers, patients were followed for the incidence of combined event [CE (first of myocardial infarction, heart failure, ischaemic stroke or mortality)] for a mean follow-up time of 4.8 years. Cox regression analysis was used to calculate Hazard Ratios (HR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI)., Results: Of the 841 patients who were investigated with both an OGTT and a HbA1c, 139 (17%) patients had NGT, 398 (47%) had prediabetes and 304 (36%) had diabetes according to OGTT. The corresponding figures using HbA1c were 320 (38%), 461 (55%) and 60 (7%). Patients with newly discovered diabetes were older and had a higher body mass index compared to those with NGT. OGTT was not predictive for CE. In contrast, prediabetes identified by a HbA1c was associated with an increased risk for CE (HR 1.31; 95% CI 1.05-1.63) compared to normoglycaemia. When comparing the prognostic value of different glucose and HbA1c cut-offs, only a HbA1c ≥ 39 mmol/mol was significantly associated with CE (HR 95% CI; 1.30:1.05-1.61)., Conclusion: In this single-centre study, in a recent contemporary cohort, we found that around two thirds of the patients admitted with AMI with no known history of diabetes had disturbed glucose metabolism, in accordance with previous studies. HbA1c in the prediabetes range, but not OGTT, added predictive value on the long-term outcome, in a cohort to whom a pathologic OGTT result was communicated with lifestyle advice.

Objective: Several high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn)-based strategies exist for rule-out of myocardial infarction (MI). It is unknown whether historical hs-cTnT concentrations can be used. This study aim to evaluate the performance of a rule-out strategy based on the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 0/1-hour algorithm, using historical hs-cTnT concentrations., Methods: All visits among patients with chest pain in the emergency department at nine different hospitals in Sweden from 2012 to 2016 were eligible (221 490 visits). We enrolled patients with a 0-hour hs-cTnT of <12 ng/L, a second hs-cTnT measured within 3.5 hours, and ≥1 historical hs-cTnT available. We calculated the risks of MI and all-cause mortality using two rule-out strategies: (1) a delta hs-cTnT of <3 ng/L between the 0-hour hs-cTnT and the second hs-cTnT (modified ESC algorithm) and (2) a historical hs-cTnT <12 ng/L and a delta hs-cTnT of <3 ng/L in relation to the 0-hour hs-cTnT (historical-hs-cTnT algorithm)., Results: A total of 8432 patients were included, of whom 84 (1.0%) had an MI. The modified ESC algorithm triaged 8100 (96%) patients toward ruled-out, for whom 30-day MI risk and negative predictive value (NPV) for MI (95% CI) were 0.4% (0.3% to 0.6%) and 99.6% (99.4% to 99.7%), respectively. The historical-hs-cTnT algorithm ruled out 6700 (80%) patients, with a 30-day MI risk of 0.5% (0.4% to 0.8%) and NPV of 99.5% (99.2% to 99.6%)., Conclusions: The application of algorithm resulted in similar MI risk and NPV to an established algorithm. The usefulness of historical hs-cTnT concentrations should merit further attention., Competing Interests: Competing interests: MJH has received consultancy honoraria from Idorsia and Pfizer., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: The ethical principles of resuscitation have been incorporated into Swedish legislation so that a decision to not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) entails (1) consultation with patient or relatives if consultation with patient was not possible and documentation of their attitudes; (2) consultation with other licensed caregivers; (3) documentation of the grounds for the DNACPR. Our aim was to evaluate adherence to this legislation, explore the grounds for the decision and the attitudes of patients and relatives towards DNACPR orders., Methods: We included DNACPR forms issued after admission through the emergency department at Karolinska University Hospital between 1st January and 31st October, 2015. Quantitative analysis evaluated adherence to legislation and qualitative analysis of a random sample of 20% evaluated the grounds for the decision and the attitudes., Results: The cohort consisted of 3583 DNACPR forms. In 40% of these it was impossible to consult the patient, and relatives were consulted in 46% of these cases. For competent patients, consultation occurred in 28% and the most common attitude was to wish to refrain from resuscitation. Relatives were consulted in 26% and they mainly agreed with the decision. Grounds for the DNAR decision was most commonly severe chronic comorbidity, malignancy or multimorbidity with or without an acute condition. All requirements of the legislation were fulfilled in 10% of the cases., Conclusion: In 90% of the cases physicians failed to fulfil all requirements in the Swedish legislation regarding DNAR orders. The decision was mostly based on chronic, severe comorbidity or multimorbidity., (© 2021 The Author(s).)

Background: Phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor (PDE5i) treatment is associated with reduced mortality compared with no treatment for erectile dysfunction after myocardial infarction (MI)., Objectives: This study sought to investigate the association between treatment with PDE5i or alprostadil and outcomes in men with stable coronary artery disease., Methods: All Swedish men with a prior MI or revascularization who received PDE5i or alprostadil during 2006 through 2013 at >6 months after the event were included, using the Swedish Patient Register and the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. Cox regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals for all-cause mortality, MI, heart failure, cardiovascular mortality, noncardiovascular mortality, cardiac revascularization, peripheral arterial disease, and stroke in men treated with PDE5i versus alprostadil., Results: This study included 16,548 men treated with PDE5i and 1,994 treated with alprostadil. The mean follow-up was 5.8 years, with 2,261 deaths (14%) in the PDE5i group and 521 (26%) in the alprostadil group. PDE5i compared with alprostadil treatment was associated with lower mortality (hazard ratio: 0.88; 95% confidence interval: 0.79 to 0.98) and with similar associations for MI, heart failure, cardiovascular mortality, and revascularization. When quintiles (q) of filled PDE5i prescriptions were compared using q1 as reference, patients in q3, q4, and q5 had lower all-cause mortality. Among alprostadil users, those in q5 had a lower all-cause mortality compared to q1., Conclusions: In men with stable coronary artery disease, treatment with PDE5i is associated with lower risks of death, MI, heart failure, and revascularization compared with alprostadil treatment. Although the decrease in all-cause mortality was PDE5i dose dependent, the data do not permit the inference of causality or any clinical benefits of PDE5i because of the observational study design., Competing Interests: Funding Support and Author Disclosures Dr. Andersson was funded by a regional agreement on medical training and clinical research between Stockholm County Council and Karolinska Institutet. Dr. Holzmann holds research positions funded by the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (grant: 20170804) and Stockholm County Council (grant: 20170686). The sponsors had no role in the design or conduct of this study. Dr. Holzmann has received consultancy fees from Idorsia unrelated to this project. All other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: There is evidence that emergency department (ED) crowding is associated with increased mortality, however large multicenter studies of high quality are scarce. In a prior study, we introduced a proxy-measure for crowding that was associated with increased mortality. The national registry SVAR enables us to study the association in a more heterogenous group of EDs with more recent data. The aim is to investigate the association between ED crowding and mortality., Methods: This was an observational cohort study including visits from 14 EDs in Sweden 2015-2019. Crowding was defined as the mean ED-census divided with expected ED-census during the work-shift that the patient arrived. The crowding exposure was categorized in three groups: low, moderate and high. Hazard ratios (HR) for mortality within 7 and 30 days were estimated with a cox proportional hazards model. The model was adjusted for age, sex, triage priority, arrival hour, weekend, arrival mode and chief complaint. Subgroup analysis by county and for admitted patients by county were performed., Results: 2,440,392 visits from 1,142,631 unique patients were analysed. A significant association was found between crowding and 7-day mortality but not with 30-day mortality. Subgroup analysis also yielded mixed results with a clear association in only one of the three counties. The estimated HR (95% CI) for 30-day mortality for admitted patients in this county was 1.06 (1.01-1.12) in the moderate crowding category, and 1.11 (1.01-1.22) in the high category., Conclusions: The association between crowding and mortality may not be universal. Factors that influence the association between crowding and mortality at different EDs are still unknown but a high hospital bed occupancy, impacting admitted patients may play a role., Competing Interests: Dr. Djärv was supported by the Stockholm County Council (clinical research appointment). Dr. Holzmann reports receiving consultancy honoraria from Actelion, Idorsia, and Pfizer. He holds research positions funded by the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (grant 20170804) and the ALF agreement between the Stockholm County Council and Karolinska Institutet (grant 20170686). This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Background: Previous studies have reported superior hemodynamic performance with bovine bioprosthetic aortic valves compared with porcine valves. However, conflicting results mean the long-term effect on survival is not well known. The aim of this study was to examine long-term survival, rate of aortic valve reoperations, and heart failure hospitalizations after surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) with porcine vs bovine bioprosthetic valves., Methods: This was a population-based cohort study including all patients who had undergone AVR in Sweden from 1995 to 2012, with or without concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting. Patients were identified through the SWEDEHEART (Swedish Web-system for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-based care in Heart disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies) registry. Baseline and outcome data were gathered from national registries. Propensity scores and inverse probability of treatment weighting were used to control for intergroup differences. Analyses accounted for competing risk of death when appropriate., Results: A total of 12,845 patients underwent AVR with porcine (n = 4198) or bovine (n = 8647) prostheses. We found a small but significant difference in mortality favoring porcine prostheses: 78% vs 76%, 47% vs 43%, and 17% vs 15% at 5, 10, and 15 years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% confidence interval, 0.85-0.96). Porcine prostheses were associated with an increased risk of reoperation (hazard ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-1.98), but no difference in the risk of heart failure hospitalization. Results were similar in patients who underwent isolated AVR., Conclusions: Consistent with previous reports, we found that patients receiving porcine prostheses had a higher rate of reoperation compared with bovine prostheses. However, porcine prostheses were associated with improved long-term survival compared with bovine prostheses., (Copyright © 2021 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background There is no clinical guidance on treatment in patients with non-ischemic myocardial injury and type 2 myocardial infarction (T2MI). Methods and Results In a cohort of 22 589 patients in the emergency department at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden during 2011 to 2014 we identified 3853 patients who were categorized into either type 1 myocardial infarction, T2MI, non-ischemic acute and chronic myocardial injury. Data from all dispensed prescriptions within 180 days of the visit to the emergency department were obtained concerning β-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers, statins, and platelet inhibitors. We estimated adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% CI for all-cause mortality in relationship to the number of medications (categorized into 0-1 [referent], 2-3 and 4 medications) in the groups of myocardial injury. In patients with T2MI, treatment with 2 to 3 and 4 medications was associated with a 50% and 56% lower mortality, respectively (adjusted HR [95% CI], 0.50 [0.25-1.01], and 0.43 [0.19-0.96]), while corresponding associations in patients with acute myocardial injury were 24% and 29%, respectively (adjusted HR [95% CI], 0.76 [0.59-0.99] and 0.71 [0.5-1.02]), and in patients with chronic myocardial injury 27% and 37%, respectively (adjusted HR [95% CI], 0.73 [0.58-0.92] and 0.63 [0.46-0.87]). Conclusions Patients with T2MI and non-ischemic acute or chronic myocardial injury are infrequently prescribed common cardiovascular medications compared with patients with type 1 myocardial infarction. However, treatment with guideline recommended drugs in patients with T2MI and acute or chronic myocardial injury is associated with a lower risk of death after adjustment for confounders.

Objective: To (1) validate and (2) display initial results of surveys to health care professionals and patients on the importance and mitigation of specified risks for diagnostic and medication errors., Design: For validation, psychometric properties were analysed by assessment of construct validity and internal consistency by factor analysis. Non-parametric analyses were used concerning areas of risk, and top ranking of solutions were reported descriptively., Setting: Primary health care in Sweden., Participants: Health care professionals (HCPs); including physicians, nurses and practice managers, as well as patients who had experienced diagnostic or medication errors., Main Outcome Measures: Psychometric properties of the surveys. Median ratings for risks and top rankings of solutions for professionals and patients., Results: There were 939 respondents to the HCP survey. Construct validity resulted in a model with four dimensions: Patient-provider level; Support systems for every day clinical work; Shared information and cooperation between different caregivers; Risks in the environment. Internal consistency was acceptable with Cronbach's α values above 0.7. Confirmatory factor analysis generally showed an acceptable fit. Initial results from the professionals showed the importance of continuity of care, a nationwide on-line medical platform and cooperation in transfer of care. The patient survey could not be validated because of low response rate., Conclusion: The HCP survey showed some contradicting results regarding model fit and may be tentatively acceptable but validity needs further study. HCP survey answers indicated that relational continuity of care and a nationwide on-line medical platform are highly valued. Current awareness Health care professionals and patients are rather untapped sources of knowledge regarding patient safety in primary health care Main statements Validation is performed on a new survey capturing rating of risks and solutions. The validation of the health care professional survey is tentatively acceptable. Survey answers indicate that health care professionals' and patients' perspectives are complementary.

Objectives: COVID-19 presents challenges to the emergency care system that could lead to emergency department (ED) crowding. The Huddinge site at the Karolinska university hospital (KH) responded through a rapid transformation of inpatient care capacity together with changing working methods in the ED. The aim is to describe the KH response to the COVID-19 crisis, and how ED crowding, and important input, throughput and output factors for ED crowding developed at KH during a 30-day baseline period followed by the first 60 days of the COVID-19 outbreak in Stockholm Region., Methods: Different phases in the development of the crisis were described and identified retrospectively based on major events that changed the conditions for the ED. Results were presented for each phase separately. The outcome ED length of stay (ED LOS) was calculated with mean and 95% confidence intervals. Input, throughput, output and demographic factors were described using distributions, proportions and means. Pearson correlation between ED LOS and emergency ward occupancy by phase was estimated with 95% confidence interval., Results: As new working methods were introduced between phase 2 and 3, ED LOS declined from mean (95% CI) 386 (373-399) minutes to 307 (297-317). Imaging proportion was reduced from 29 to 18% and admission rate increased from 34 to 43%. Correlation (95% CI) between emergency ward occupancy and ED LOS by phase was 0.94 (0.55-0.99)., Conclusions: It is possible to avoid ED crowding, even during extreme and quickly changing conditions by leveraging previously known input, throughput and output factors. One key factor was the change in working methods in the ED with higher competence, less diagnostics and increased focus on rapid clinical admission decisions. Another important factor was the reduction in bed occupancy in emergency wards that enabled a timely admission to inpatient care. A key limitation was the retrospective study design.

Objectives: Emergency department (ED) crowding is a major problem across the world. Studies investigating the association between crowding and mortality are many, but the quality is inconsistent and there are very few large, high-quality multicenter studies that are properly designed to deal with confounding due to case mix. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between ED crowding and 30-day mortality., Methods: We conducted an observational cohort study at all 7 EDs in Stockholm Region, Sweden 2012-2016. The crowding exposure was defined as the mean hourly ED census during the shift that the exposed patient arrived, divided with the expected ED census for this shift. The expected ED census was estimated using a separate linear model for each hospital with year and shift as predictors. The exposure was categorized in 3 groups: reference (lowest 75% of observations), moderate (75%-95% of observations), and high (highest 5% of observations). Hazard ratios (HR) for all-cause mortality within 30 days were estimated with a Cox proportional hazards model. The model was adjusted for age, sex, triage priority, arrival hour, weekend, arrival mode, chief complaint, number of prior hospital admissions, and comorbidities., Results: 884,228 patients who visited the ED 2,252,656 times were included in the analysis. The estimated HR (95% confidence interval) for death within 30-days was 1.00 (0.97-1.03) in crowding category 75%-95% and 1.08 (1.03-1.14) in the 95%-100% category., Conclusions: In a large cohort study including 7 EDs in Stockholm Region, Sweden we identified a significant association between high levels of ED crowding and increased 30-day mortality., (© 2020 The Authors. JACEP Open published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of the American College of Emergency Physicians.)

Patients with elevated but stable levels of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) have a high risk of premature death and cardiovascular events. This study aimed to investigate the association between stable hs-cTnT levels and healthcare and resource use in patients with chest pain in the emergency department (ED). We included all patients who presented with chest pain and stable hs-cTnT levels without any concurrent acute medical condition at Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden, from 2011 to 2014. A negative binomial regression model was used to calculate incidence rates and incidence rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the number of hospital visits, hospital days, and investigations performed during follow-up, in different categories of hs-cTnT levels (reference: hs-cTnT <5 ng/l). A total of 19,437 patients were included. During a follow-up of 4.1 years, 36,617 hospital visits and 206,808 hospital days were observed. Yearly rates of hospital visits and days gradually rose with increasing hs-cTnT levels from 0.3 and 1.27 (<5 ng/l) to 1.7 and 13 (≥50 ng/l) per person. In patients with hs-cTnT levels >14 ng/l, adjusted risks of in-hospital days were more than doubled (adjusted incidence rate ratio (95% CI) 2.31 (2.14 to 2.50), 2.88 (2.55 to 3.26), and 2.89 (2.45 to 3.40) in patients with hs-cTnT levels of 15 to 29, 30 to 49, and ≥50 ng/l, respectively) compared with the reference. Computed tomography, but not coronary angiography, increased with increasing hs-cTnT levels. In conclusion, stable hs-cTnT levels are associated with a higher rate of hospitalization, length of hospital stay, and resource use in patients with chest pain., Competing Interests: Disclosures The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the most important cause of death in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We aimed to study the association between cardiovascular drugs in AF patients and incident CHF. The study population included all adults (n = 120 756) aged ≥45 years diagnosed with AF in Sweden diagnosed for the period 1998-2006. Outcome was incident congestive heart failure (follow-up 2007-2015) in AF patients. Associations between treatment with cardiovascular pharmacotherapies and CHF were evaluated using Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs, after adjustment for age, sociodemographic variables, and comorbidities. During a mean 5.3 years (SD 3.0) of follow-up, there were 28 257 (23.4%) incident cases of CHF. Treatment with beta-1-selective and non-selective beta-blockers and statins was associated with lower risks of incident CHF in men, HR, (95% CI); 0.90, (0.87-0.94); 0.90, (0.84-0.97), and 0.94, (0.90-0.99), respectively. Only beta-1-selective beta-blockers were protective in women 0.94 (0.91-0.98). Treatment with loop diuretics, potassium-saving agents, ACE inhibitors, and angiotensin receptor blockers was associated with a higher risk of CHF. For men, treatment with heart-active calcium channel blockers also led to a higher risk of CHF. In conclusion, we found that beta-blockers, in particular, but also statins were associated with lower risk of incident CHF in patients with AF., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Study Objective: We evaluate the importance of hospital bed occupancy for 30-day mortality, inhospital mortality, readmission for inpatient care within 30 days, and revisits to the emergency department (ED) within 7 days among all adult patients visiting the ED., Methods: This was an observational cohort study including all adult patients visiting 6 EDs in Stockholm Region, Sweden. ED visits from 2012 to 2016 were categorized into groups by hospital bed occupancy in 5% intervals between 85% and 105%. A proportional hazards model was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The model was stratified by hospital and adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, hospital stays in the year preceding the index visit, marital status, length of education, and weekday/weekend timing of visit., Results: A total of 816,832 patients with 2,084,554 visits were included. Mean hospital bed occupancy was 93.3% (SD 3.3%). In total, 28,112 patients died within 30 days, and 17,966 patients died inhospital. Hospital bed occupancy was not associated with 30-day mortality (hazard ratio for highest category of occupancy ≥105% was 1.10; 95% CI 0.96 to 1.27) or inhospital mortality. Patients discharged from the ED at occupancy levels greater than 89% had a 2% to 4% higher risk of revisits to the ED within 7 days. A 10% increase in hospital bed occupancy was associated with a 16-minute increase (95% CI 16 to 17 minutes) in ED length of stay and 1.9-percentage-point decrease (95% CI 1.7 to 2.0 percentage points) in admission rate., Conclusion: We did not find an association between increasing hospital bed occupancy and mortality in our sample of 6 EDs in Stockholm Region, Sweden, despite increased length of stay in the ED and a decline in admissions for inpatient care., (Copyright © 2019 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background There is a paucity of data on the benefit of revascularization by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) during non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction in patients aged >80 years with concurrent chronic kidney disease. Methods and Results Patients aged >80 years with chronic kidney disease, defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 with non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction, during 2011 to 2014 in Sweden retrieved from the SWEDEHEART (Swedish Web-System for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-Based Care in Heart Disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies) Registry. Cox regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios with 95% CIs for all-cause mortality in patients with PCI versus no PCI treatment, stratified for eGFR. Logistic regression was used to evaluate adjusted odds for reinfarction and bleeding during hospitalization. Propensity score weighting analysis was also done as sensitivity analysis. In total, 12 821 patients were included, of whom 47%, 45%, and 8% had an eGFR of >60, 30 to 60, and 15 to <30 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 , respectively. Patients with eGFR 30 to 60 and 15 to <30 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 , 22%, and 10%, respectively, underwent PCI, compared with 36% among patients with eGFR >60 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 . During a mean follow-up of 3.2 years, the absolute risk of death was 42%, 56%, and 76% in patients with eGFR >60, 30 to 60, and 15 to <30 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 , respectively. Patients who underwent PCI had a lower risk of death in all groups of eGFR (0.47 [95% CI, 0.42-0.53], 0.50 [95% CI, 0.45-0.56], and 0.44 [95% CI, 0.33-0.59], respectively). Patients with eGFR 15 to <30 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 had a higher risk of bleeding with PCI. Propensity score weighting showed similar outcomes for mortality risk as the unweighted analysis in all the eGFR groups. Conclusions PCI is rarely used in non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction elderly patients with chronic kidney disease, and it appears to offer a survival benefit.

Background: Disturbances of glucose metabolism are important risk factors for coronary artery disease and are associated with an increased mortality risk. The aim was to investigate the association between preoperative disturbances of glucose metabolism and long-term all-cause mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)., Methods: Patients undergoing a first isolated CABG in 2005-2013 were included. All patients without previously known diabetes underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) before surgery. They were categorised as having normal glucose tolerance (NGT), pre-diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance and/or impaired fasting glucose) or newly discovered diabetes. Data were collected from nationwide healthcare registers. Cox regression was used to calculate adjusted HR with 95% CI for death in patients with pre-diabetes and diabetes, using NGT as reference., Results: In total, 497 patients aged 40-86 years were included. According to OGTT, 170 (34%) patients had NGT, 219 (44%) patients with pre-diabetes and 108 (22%) patients had newly discovered diabetes. Baseline characteristics were similar between the groups except for slightly higher age among patients with newly discovered diabetes. There were 133 (27%) deaths during a mean follow-up time of 10 years. The cumulative 10-year survival was 77% (69%-83%), 83% (77%-87%) and 71% (61%-79%) in patients with NGT, pre-diabetes and newly discovered diabetes, respectively. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality between the groups after multivariable adjustment., Conclusion: In this study, patients with pre-diabetes or newly discovered diabetes prior to CABG had similar long-term survival compared with patients with NGT., Competing Interests: Competing interests: MJH has received consultancy honoraria from Actelion, Idorsia and Pfizer. PL has received consultancy honoraria from Amgen and Sanofi., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Many patients presenting with chest pain in the emergency department have stable concentrations of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) without any acute medical condition. Stable hs-cTnT levels are associated with a high risk of death. This study aimed to investigate causes of death in relation to hs-cTnT concentrations., Methods: In a cohort of 19,460 patients with chest pain and stable hs-cTnT levels measured 2011-2014, of whom 1528 (7.9%) had chronic myocardial injury, we included all patients who died during follow-up (4.0 ± 1.3 years). Rates of cause-specific death were calculated for hs-cTnT concentrations and adjusted odds ratios (OR) estimated for causes of death at hs-cTnT 5-14 ng/l and >14 ng/l (referent hs-cTnT < 5 ng/l)., Results: The study cohort comprised 1577 patients (8.1%), of whom 684 (43%) had chronic myocardial injury (hs-cTnT > 14 ng/l). Annual cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular death rates increased with increasing hs-cTnT from 0.07% and 0.4% (<5 ng/l) to 17% and 15% (≥50 ng/l), respectively. The ratio of cardiovascular to non-cardiovascular death increased with higher hs-cTnT. Patients with hs-cTnT 5-14 ng/l were 87% more likely to die from cardiovascular causes than those with hs-cTnT < 5 ng/l (adjusted OR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.24-2.80). The association was similar for patients with chronic myocardial injury., Conclusions: Hs-cTnT concentrations of 5-14 ng/l and >14 ng/l are associated with an almost twofold risk of cardiovascular death, whereas cardiovascular death almost never occurs in patients with undetectable troponin. Only with hs-cTnT concentrations ≥ 50 ng/l were cardiovascular diseases the predominant cause of death., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Dr. Holzmann has received consultancy honoraria from Idorsia. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Information about causes of death in patients with myocardial injury is limited. The purpose of this study was to explore causes of death in patients with myocardial injury., Methods: In a cohort of 22,589 patients, 3853 patients with myocardial injury were identified and categorized into: type 1 myocardial infarction, type 2 myocardial infarction, and nonischemic acute and chronic myocardial injury. We included all 1466/3853 (38%) patients who died during follow-up (3.9 ± 2 years). We estimated rates and adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for causes of death in the 4 categories of myocardial injury using patients without myocardial injury 819/17,932 (4.6%) who died as reference., Results: The study cohort included 2285 patients. The proportion of cardiovascular deaths was higher in patients with type 1 myocardial infarction (48%), acute (43%), and chronic (45%) myocardial injury and type 2 myocardial infarction (39%) compared with patients without myocardial injury (25%). Adjusted rates for cardiovascular death were similar in patients with myocardial injury. Type 1 myocardial infarction, acute, and chronic myocardial injury was associated with a 77% (OR: 1.77, 95% CI 1.29-2.41), 40% (OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.07-1.84), and 36% (OR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.05-1.76) higher risk of cardiovascular death., Conclusions: Patients with type 1 myocardial infarction and acute or chronic myocardial injury have similar proportions and high risks for cardiovascular death. We believe that these findings stress the need for investigating patients without known heart diseases who present with nonischemic myocardial injury, or type 2 myocardial infarction., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To explore how patients, that had experienced harm in primary care, and how primary providers and practice managers understood reasons for harm and possibilities to reduce risk of harm. Design: Inductive qualitative analysis of structured questionnaires with free text answers. Setting: Primary health care in Sweden. Patients/subjects: Patients ( n  = 22) who had experienced preventable harm in primary health care, and primary care providers and practice managers, including 15 physicians, 20 nurses and 24 practice managers. Main outcome measures: Categories and overarching themes from the qualitative analysis. Results: The three categories identified as important for safety were continuity of care, communication and competence. With flaws in these, risks were thought to be greater and if these were strengthened the risks could be reduced. The overarching theme for the patient was the experience of being neglected, like not having been properly examined. The overarching theme for primary care providers and practice managers was lack of continuity of care. Conclusion: Primary care providers, practice managers and patients understood the risks and how to reduce the risks of patient safety problems as related to three main categories: continuity of care, communication and competence. Future work towards a safer primary health care could therefore benefit from focusing on these areas.Key pointsCurrent awareness:  • Patients and primary care providers are rather untapped sources of knowledge regarding patient safety in primary health care.Main statements:  • Patients understood the risk of harm as stemming from that they were not properly examined.  • Primary care providers understood the risk of harm to a great extent as stemming from poor continuity of care.  • Patients, primary care providers and practice managers believed continuity, communication and competence play an important role in reducing risks.

Aims: To compare stroke incidence in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with that in a matched control group, and to investigate whether glucose exposure in people with T2D can predict a first-time stroke event and mortality., Material and Methods: In a nationwide observational cohort study, individuals with T2D were linked in the Swedish National Diabetes Register and matched with five individual population-based control subjects. We calculated crude incidence rates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and used Cox regression and multivariable hazard ratios (HRs), to estimate the risk of stroke and mortality in relation to glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels., Results: A total of 406 271 people with T2D (age 64.1 ± 12.4 years, 45.7% women) and 2086 440 control subjects (age 64.0 ± 12.4 years, 45.7% women) were included. During a median follow-up of 7.3 years, 26 380 people with T2D (6.5%) versus 92 375 control subjects (4.4%) were diagnosed with a stroke. The incidence rate was 10.12 events per 1000 person-years versus 7.26 events per 1000 person-years (HR 1.54, 95% CI 1.52-1.56). In the T2D group after multivariable adjustments, the HRs for stroke stratified by HbA1c level were: 54-64 mmol/mol: 1.27 (95% CI 1.22-1.32); 65-75 mmol/mol: 1.68 (95% CI 1.60-1.76); 76-86 mmol/mol: 1.89 (95% CI, 1.75-2.05); and > 87 mmol/mol: 2.14 (95% CI 1.90-2.42), respectively, compared with the reference category of HbA1c ≤53 mmol/mol. There was a stepwise increased risk of death after stroke, for every 10-mmol/mol categorical increment of HbA1c (HR 1.71; 95% CI 1.47-2.00) for the highest HbA1c category., Conclusions: An increased risk of stroke and death was associated with poor glycaemic control in people with T2D., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Patient safety issues in primary health care and in emergency departments have not been as thoroughly explored as patient safety issues in the hospital setting. Knowledge is particularly sparse regarding which patients have a higher risk of harm in these settings. The objective was to evaluate which patient-related factors were associated with risk of harm in patients with reports of safety incidents., Methods: A case-control study performed in primary health care and emergency departments in Sweden. In total, 4536 patients (cases) and 44,949 controls were included in this study. Cases included patients with reported preventable harm in primary health care and emergency departments from January 1st, 2011 until December 31st, 2016., Results: Psychiatric disease, including all psychiatric diagnoses regardless of severity, nearly doubled the risk of being a reported case of preventable harm (odds ratio, 1.96; p < 0.001). Adjusted for income and education there was still an increased risk (odds ratio, 1.69; p < 0.001). The preventable harm in this group was to 46% diagnostic errors of somatic disease., Conclusion: Patients with psychiatric illness are at higher risk of preventable harm in primary care and the emergency department. Therefore, this group needs extra attention to prevent harm.

Objective: There is a paucity of data regarding prognosis in patients with acute versus chronic myocardial injury for long-term outcomes. We hypothesised that patients with chronic myocardial injury have a similar long-term prognosis as patients with acute myocardial injury., Methods: In an observational cohort study of 22 589 patients who had high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) measured in the emergency department during 2011-2014, we identified all patients with level >14 ng/L and categorised them as acute myocardial injury, type 1 myocardial infarction (T1MI), type 2 myocardial infarction (T2MI) or chronic myocardial injury through adjudication. We estimated adjusted HRs with 95% CIs for the primary outcome all-cause mortality and secondary outcomes MI, and heart failure in patients with acute myocardial injury, T1MI and T2MI compared with chronic myocardial injury., Results: In total, 3853 patients were included. During 3.9 (±2) years of follow-up, 48%, 24%, 44% and 49% of patients with acute myocardial injury, T1MI, T2MI and chronic myocardial injury died, respectively. Patients with acute myocardial injury had higher adjusted risks of death (1.21, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.36) and heart failure (1.24, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.43), but a similar risk for myocardial infarction (MI) compared with the reference group. Patients with T1MI had a lower adjusted risk of death (0.86, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.00) and higher risk of MI (2.09, 95% CI 1.62 to 2.68), but a similar risk of heart failure. Patients with T2MI had a higher adjusted risk of death (1.46, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.80) and heart failure (1.30, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.69) compared with patients with chronic myocardial injury., Conclusions: Absolute long-term risks for death are similar, and adjusted risks are slightly higher, among patients with acute myocardial injury and T2MI, respectively, compared with chronic myocardial injury. The lowest risk of long-term mortality was found in patients with T1MI. Both acute and chronic myocardial injury are associated with very high risks of adverse outcomes., Competing Interests: Competing interests: MJH received consultancy honoraria from Actelion, Idorsia and Pfizer. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objectives: We sought to investigate the association between LVEF and clinical outcomes after NSTEMI, and the benefit of guideline-recommended pharmacotherapy in elderly patients., Background: New-onset reduction in LVEF is common after NSTEMI in patients of advanced age. There is little information about outcomes in relation to LVEF, and the benefit of guideline-recommended pharmacotherapy in elderly patients., Materials and Methods: The SWEDEHEART registry was used to identify all patients in Sweden >80 years with NSTEMI from 2011 to 2014. A normal LVEF was defined as >50%; mildly reduced, 40%-49%; moderately reduced, 30%-39%; and severely reduced, <30%. Cox regression was used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between a reduced LVEF compared with a normal LVEF and all-cause mortality. Similarly, the presence versus absence of treatment with guideline-recommended medications at discharge and mortality was evaluated., Results: 6287 patients were included where 59%, 20%, 13%, and 6% had a normal, mildly reduced, moderately reduced, and severely reduced LVEF, respectively. During a median follow-up of 2.4 years, 2211 (35%) patients died. All three categories of impaired LVEF were associated with higher mortality: mildly reduced (1.44, 1.25-1.65), moderately reduced (1.93, 1.67-2.23), and severely reduced (3.24, 2.74-3.85). Patients who were treated with beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, or statins at discharge had lower mortality., Conclusions: New-onset reduction of the LVEF is common in advanced-age patients with NSTEMI and is associated with higher mortality. Treatment with guideline-recommended medications is associated with a better prognosis., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background Prior research has shown higher mortality in women with severe coronary artery disease compared with men, particularly in younger patients. It is unknown if this could be attributable to an adverse risk factor profile. Methods and Results In a population-based cohort study, we included all adults ≤50 years of age (932 women and 4514 men) who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting from 1995 to 2013 from the SWEDEHEART (Swedish Web System for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-Based Care in Heart Disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies) register. Following inverse probability of treatment weighting, we investigated differences between women and men. Women had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors compared with men. There was no difference in early mortality between women and men (unadjusted: 1.3% versus 0.9%; hazard ratio, 1.42; 95% CI, 0.75-2.70; weighted sample: 1.1% versus 1.0%; hazard ratio, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.52-2.30). During a median follow-up time of 11.8 years, in the unweighted population, the risk of death was greater in women compared with men (hazard ratio, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.13-1.58). However, in the weighted sample, the risk of death was not significantly different in women compared with men (hazard ratio, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.83-1.26). Conclusions Women ≤50 years of age had a higher unadjusted risk of death after coronary artery bypass grafting compared with men, but this was explained by a clustering of cardiovascular risk factors. Female sex per se was not associated with increased mortality or major adverse cardiovascular events. Early mortality was not increased in women compared with men, even though younger women in our study had an increased burden of risk factors known to affect early risk. Clinical Trial Registration URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02276950.

Objective: To describe patients presenting with chest pain to the emergency department (ED) according to acute kidney injury (AKI) status at arrival, with a focus on the most common discharge diagnoses and on long-term mortality., Methods: All adult patients visiting the Karolinska University Hospital ED between December 2010 and October 2014 with a principal complaint of chest pain were included. AKI at arrival was defined as an increase in presentation serum creatinine concentration of at least 26 µmol/l ( ≥ 0.3 mg/dl) or at least 50% above baseline. Risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between the AKI and no-AKI groups were calculated for the most common discharge diagnoses in the AKI group. Hazard ratios for long-term mortality were calculated using Cox regression models with adjustment for covariates., Results: In total, 8480 patients were included, of whom 476 (5.6%) had AKI. AKI patients were older and had more comorbidities. It was more common in AKI patients compared to no AKI patients to be diagnosed with heart failure, RR 3.03 (CI: 2.15-4.26) and myocardial infarction RR 1.44 (CI: 1.01-2.04). During a median follow-up of 3.2 years (interquartile range: 2.1-4.3), 37% of the patients with AKI died compared with 16% of patients without AKI. The multivariable adjusted hazard ratio of death for AKI compared with no AKI was 1.30 (95% CI: 1.10-1.53)., Conclusion: When attending the ED, patients with chest pain and AKI were more likely to be diagnosed with heart failure and myocardial infarction and had an increased long-term mortality compared with patients with no AKI.

Background: Contemporary data on loss in life expectancy after aortic valve replacement (AVR) are scarce, particularly in younger patients., Objectives: The purpose of this national, observational cohort study was to analyze long-term relative survival and estimated loss in life expectancy after AVR., Methods: The study included 23,528 patients who underwent primary surgical AVR with or without concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting in Sweden between 1995 and 2013 from the SWEDEHEART (Swedish Web-system for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-based care in Heart disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies) register. Individual level linking with other national health-data registers was performed to obtain baseline characteristics and vital status. The expected survival from the general Swedish population matched by age, sex, and year of surgery was obtained from the Human Mortality Database. The relative survival was used as an estimate of cause-specific mortality. Flexible parametric models based on relative survival were used to estimate the loss in life expectancy., Results: The mean follow-up was 6.8 years. The 19-year observed, expected, and relative survival was 21%, 34%, and 63% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 59% to 67%), respectively. The loss in life expectancy was 1.9 years (95% CI: 1.2 to 2.6 years) in the total study population. The estimated loss in life expectancy increased with younger age: 0.4 years (95% CI: 0.3 to 0.5 years) versus 4.4 years (95% CI: 1.5 to 7.2 years) in patients ≥80 and <50 years of age, respectively. There was no difference in loss in life expectancy between men and women., Conclusions: This study found a shorter life expectancy in patients after AVR compared with the general population. The estimated loss in life expectancy was substantial, and increased with younger age. These results provide important information to quantify disease burden after AVR, and are relevant for clinicians counseling patients before and after AVR. (HeAlth-data Register sTudies of Risk and Outcomes in Cardiac Surgery [HARTROCS]; NCT02276950)., (Copyright © 2019 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Diagnostic errors are a major patient safety concern in primary healthcare and emergency care. These settings involve a high degree of uncertainty regarding patients' diagnoses and appear to be those most prone to diagnostic errors. Diagnostic errors comprise missed, delayed, or incorrect diagnoses preventing the patient from receiving correct and timely treatment. Data regarding which diagnoses are affected in these settings are scarce. Objectives: To understand the distribution of diagnoses among reported diagnostic errors in primary health and emergency care as a step towards creating countermeasures for safer care. Methods: A retrospective and descriptive cohort study investigating reported diagnostic errors. A nationwide cohort was collected from two databases. The study was performed in Sweden from 1 January 2011 until 31 December 2016. The setting was primary healthcare and emergency departments. Results: In total, 4830 cases of preventable harm were identified. Of these, 2208 (46%) were due to diagnostic errors. Diagnoses affected in primary care were cancer (37% and 23%, respectively, in the two databases; mostly colon and skin), fractures (mostly hand), heart disease (mostly myocardial infarction), and rupture of tendons (mostly Achilles). Of the diagnostic errors in the emergency department, fractures constituted 24% (mostly hand and wrist, 29%). Rupture/injury of muscle/tendon constituted 19% (mostly finger tendons, rotator cuff tendons, and Achilles tendon). Conclusion: Our findings show that the most frequently missed diagnoses among reported harm were cancers in primary care and fractures in the emergency departments.

Background: Chronic myocardial injury, defined as persistent troponin levels >99th percentile values when measured with high-sensitivity assays (hs-cTn), is common. The association between chronic myocardial injury and stroke is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the association between chronic myocardial injury and stroke., Methods: From 2011 to 2014, we included patients with chest pain and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels measured concurrently but without acute conditions associated with elevated high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels. Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for stroke in patients with stable high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels of 5-9, 10-14, 15-29, 30-49, and ≥50 ng/L, using <5 ng/L as reference group. Categories >14 ng/L were defined as chronic myocardial injury., Results: A total of 19,460 patients were included, among whom 1528 (7.9%) had chronic myocardial injury. During a mean follow-up of 2.1 years, there were 244 (1.2%) strokes. With increasing high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels yearly stroke rates increased from 0.24% to 4.0%. Adjusted hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals for stroke were 1.83 (1.27-2.64) in patients with high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels of 5-9 ng/L, increasing to 1.95 (1.21-3.14), 3.38 (1.80-6.35), and 4.32 (1.89-9.91) in patients with high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels of 15-29, 30-49, and ≥50 ng/L, respectively., Conclusions: Patients with chronic myocardial injury have up to a 4-fold increased risk of stroke compared with patients with high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels <5 ng/L. Our findings indicate that patients with any detectable high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T level, in particular those with chronic myocardial injury, have an increased risk of stroke and require further attention., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Blood type A antigen on porcine aortic bioprostheses might initiate an immune reaction leading to an increased frequency of structural valve deterioration in patients with blood type B or O. The aim was to analyse the association between ABO blood type and porcine bioprosthetic aortic valve degeneration., Design: Observational nationwide cohort study., Setting: Swedish population-based study., Participants: Adult patients (n=3417) who underwent surgical aortic valve replacement and received porcine bioprosthetic aortic valves between 1995 and 2012 from the Swedish Web system for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-based care in Heart disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies register. The study database was enriched with information from other national registers., Exposure: The patients were categorised into type A/AB and type B/O blood groups., Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures: Primary outcome measure was aortic valve reoperation, and secondary outcomes were heart failure and all-cause mortality. We report risk estimates that account for the competing risk of death., Results: In total, 3417 patients were identified: 1724 (50.5%) with blood type A/AB and 1693 (49.5%) with blood type B/O. Both groups had similar baseline characteristics. The cumulative incidence of aortic valve reoperation was 3.4% (95% CI 2.5% to 4.4%) and 3.6% (95% CI 2.6% to 4.6%) in the type B/O and the A/AB group, respectively, at 15 years of follow-up (absolute risk difference: -0.2% (95% CI -1.5% to 1.2%)). There was no significantly increased risk for aortic valve reoperation in patients with blood type B/O compared with type A/AB (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.62 to 1.45). There was no significant difference in absolute or relative risk of heart failure or death between the groups., Conclusions: We found no significant association between patient blood type and clinical manifestations of structural valve deterioration following porcine aortic valve replacement. Our findings suggest that it is safe to use porcine bioprosthetic valves without consideration of ABO blood type in the recipient., Trial Registration Number: NCT02276950., Competing Interests: Competing interests: MH received consultancy honoraria from Actelion and Pfizer., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)