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Udgivelsesdato: 2009-Dec, OBJECTIVES: To perform three-dimensional endoanal ultrasound (EAUS) after primary repair of fourth-degree anal sphincter rupture (ASR) and correlate the sonographic defects with anal incontinence (AI); to measure the axial and sagittal thickness and angle of the puborectal muscle (PRM) as well as the length of the anal canal, and then correlate these measures with AI; and to assess the interobserver measurement agreement between an inexperienced and an experienced sonologist. METHODS: EAUS was offered to 84 consecutive women, who were asked to answer a validated questionnaire after fourth-degree ASR. AI was graded according to the Wexner score and EAUS defects were graded according to the Starck score. RESULTS: Sixty-one women (73%) answered the questionnaire. The median (range) follow-up time was 5.1 (1.3-8.7) years. Thirty-three (54%) of these women underwent EAUS and were included in the study. There was no difference in the incontinence scores between women who underwent EAUS and those who did not. Eleven of the women who underwent EAUS (33%) were continent, 22 women (67%) had flatus incontinence at least once a month, of whom 12 also had incontinence for liquid stool and two had incontinence for solid stool. The median Wexner score was 2 (range, 0-12). Five of the patients (15%) had no ultrasound defects. All of the patients with Wexner scores > or = 4 had a Starck score of > or = 10. No association between ultrasound defects and AI was demonstrated, however, the angle of the PRM and parity were associated with Starck score. No clear association between the measurements of the PRM and AI was shown. The experienced observer detected more of the small defects than did the inexperienced observer. CONCLUSION: In a 1-9-year follow-up period after primary suture of fourth-degree ASR, the frequency of AI was high, at 67%. No clear association was seen between AI and sphincter defects detected on ultrasonography. There was an association between the angle of the

Udgivelsesdato: 1999-Oct, Smoking is a risk factor for acute myocardial infarction; paradoxically, many studies have shown a lower post-infarct mortality among smokers. There are some important differences between smokers and non-smokers, which might explain the observed difference in mortality: smokers have less multivessel disease and atherosclerosis but are more thrombogenic; thrombolytic therapy seems to be more effective among smokers; smoking might result in an increased out-of-hospital mortality rate, by being more arrhythmogenic; and smokers are on average a decade younger than non-smokers at the time of infarction, and have less concomitant disease. Adjusting for these differences in regression analyses shows that smoking is not an independent risk factor for mortality after acute myocardial infarction. The difference in age and risk factors are responsible for the lower mortality among smokers.

Udgivelsesdato: 1999-Feb, Smoking is an important risk factor for atherosclerotic heart disease, but several studies have shown smoking to be associated with a favourable prognosis in patients who have suffered an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We studied a large group of consecutive patients admitted alive to hospital with an infarction in order to further study the prognostic importance of smoking status at the time of myocardial infarction. The study cohort comprised 6676 patients with an enzyme-confirmed myocardial infarction admitted to 27 Danish hospitals over a 26-month period between 1990 and 1992. Smoking status was determined at the time of hospitalisation and complete follow-up was obtained in October 1996. Smokers were on average 10 years younger, had fewer concomitant cardiac risk factors, and were more likely to be male and to receive thrombolytic therapy more frequently than non-smokers. In univariate analysis, smoking was associated with reduced 30-day and long-term mortality (risk ratio at 30 days 0.55, P < 0.001, risk ratio long-term 0.59, P < 0.001). When age only was included in a multivariate analysis, smoking was no longer of importance in short- or long-term mortality (risk ratio 0.92, P = 0.4 at 30 days and long-term risk ratio 0.98, P = 0.7). Inclusion of further variables did not change this picture. In conclusion, smoking contributes to the occurrence of AMI at a younger age. The more favourable prognosis in smokers at the time of AMI is a result of more favourable baseline characteristics, especially their lower age.

The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of patient characteristics on delay between onset of symptoms and hospital admission (patient delay) in acute myocardial infarction. A group of 6676 consecutive patients with AMI, admitted alive to 27 Danish hospitals from 1990 to 1992, were studied. Due to missing information on delay or in hospital acute myocardial infarction 698 patients were excluded. Mean patient delay was 9.1 hours, median delay 3.25 hours (5 to 95 percentiles: 0.67-40 hours). In multivariate logistic regression analysis patient delay was independently associated with male gender, increased age, diabetes mellitus, left ventricular systolic function (wall motion index), onset from midnight to 6 a.m., onset on a weekday, history of angina pectoris, chest pain as initial symptom, ventricular fibrillation or-tachycardia, Killip class > or = 3, presence of ST-elevation and ST-depressions. In conclusion, patient delay continues to be disappointingly long. This also applies to patients with a high risk of acute myocardial infarction (notably history of diabetes mellitus and angina pectoris). Udgivelsesdato: 1998-Mar-9

Udgivelsesdato: 1998-Apr, AIMS: The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of a history of arterial hypertension on long-term prognosis after an acute myocardial infarction in a representative population, and secondly to assess the impact on prognosis of left ventricular systolic function in hypertensives after acute myocardial infarction. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of survival data on 6676 patients with acute myocardial infarction screened for entry into the TRAndolapril Cardiac Evaluation (TRACE) study. Follow-up time was 4-6 years. RESULTS: One thousand five hundred and seven (23%) of the patients had a history of arterial hypertension. During the time of observation 763 (50.6%) hypertensives and 2253 (43.7%) normotensives died, corresponding to a risk ratio for death in hypertensives of 1.23 (1.13-1.33, P < 0.0001). In a multivariate analysis considering 12 other major risk factors after myocardial infarction, the risk ratio for death in hypertensives was 1.14 (1.04-1.24). There was a significant interaction between hypertension and age. Thus, hypertension only increased risk in patients aged 65 years or less (P < 0.001). No interaction with left ventricular systolic function was found. CONCLUSION: A history of arterial hypertension is a moderate risk factor for mortality after an acute myocardial infarction in patients aged 65 years or less. This excess risk is present at all levels of left ventricular systolic function.

Udgivelsesdato: 1996-Jul-15, The aim of this study was to assess the importance of congestive heart failure and left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction after an acute myocardial infarction (AIM) on long-term mortality in different age groups. A total of 7,001 consecutive enzyme-confirmed AMIs (6,676 patients) were screened for entry into the TRAndolapril Cardiac Evaluation (TRACE) study. Medical history, echocardiographic estimation of LV systolic function determined as wall motion index, infarct complications, and survival were documented for all patients. To study the importance of congestive heart failure and wall motion index independent of age, we performed Cox proportional-hazard models in 4 different age strata (< or = 55 years, 56 to 65 years, 66 to 75 years, and > 75 years). Patients in these strata had 1-year mortality rates of 5%, 11%, 21%, and 32%, respectively. Three-year mortality rates were 11%, 20%, 34%, and 55%, respectively. The risk ratios (and 95% confidence limits) associated with congestive heart failure in the same 4 age strata were 1.9 (1.3 to 2.9), 2.8 (2.1 to 3.7), 1.8 (1.5 to 2.2) and 1.8 (1.5 to 2.2), respectively. The risk ratios associated with decreasing wall motion index were 6.5 (3.6 to 11.4), 3.3 (2.3 to 4.6), 2.7 (2.2 to 3.4), and 2.1 (1.7 to 2.6), respectively. In absolute percentages, there was an excess 3-year mortality associated with congestive heart failure in the 4 age strata of 14%, 24%, 25%, and 28% respectively. The absolute excess in 3-year mortality associated with LV systolic dysfunction in the 4 age strata was 15%, 19%, 25%, and 21%, respectively. Thus, the relative importance of LV systolic dysfunction and congestive heart failure diminished with increasing age. However, the absolute excess mortality associated with congestive heart failure and LV systolic dysfunction was more pronounced in the elderly than in the young.

Udgivelsesdato: 1996-May-15, The aim of this study was to assess differences in short- and long-term mortality between male and female patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The study population consisted of 6,676 consecutive patients admitted alive with an enzyme-confirmed AMI to 27 Danish hospitals from 1990 to 1992. Five patients were excluded because of missing information. Female patients (n = 2,170) were on average 5 years older than male patients (n = 4,501, p <0.001), had lower body mass index, and more often had diabetes, hypertension, and congestive heart failure. Left ventricular systolic function was the same for men and women. Women received thrombolytic therapy less often. The 1-year mortality for female patients was 28 +/- 1% and for men 21 +/- 1% (p <0.001). The unadjusted risk ratio associated with male gender in a proportional-hazards model was 0.76 (95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.70 to 0.83). Adjustment for age removed the importance of gender, and the risk ratio associated with male gender was 1.06 (95% CI 0.97 to 1.2, p = 0.2). An introduction of further variables in the model did not change this. Subdividing mortality into 6-day, 30-day, and late mortality demonstrated a significantly increased mortality in women in the short-term (6 and 30 days), with a risk ratio in men of 0.58 (95% CI 0.42 to 0.81) and 0.80 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.99), respectively. From day 30 onward there was an increased mortality in men with a risk ratio of 1.16 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.31, p = 0.01). Thus, women admitted alive to the hospital with an AMI have an increased long-term mortality that is explained by their older age. However, short-term mortality in women seems to increase independently of other risk factors, but is later followed by an increase in mortality in men.

Udgivelsesdato: 1996-Mar, The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of patient characteristics on delay between onset of symptoms and hospital admission (patient delay) in acute myocardial infarction, and especially to assess the impact of risk factors for acute myocardial infarction on patient delay. A group of 6676 consecutive patients with enzyme-confirmed acute myocardial infarction, admitted alive to 27 Danish hospitals over a 26 month period from 1990 to 1992, were studied. Due to missing information on delay or in-hospital acute myocardial infarction 698 patients were excluded, leaving 5978 patients for analysis. Mean patient delay was 9.1 h, median delay 3.25 h (5 to 95 percentiles: 0.67-40.0 h). Thirty-four percent were admitted within the first 2 h, 68% within 6 h and 81% within 12 h of onset of symptoms. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, a greater than 2 h patient delay was independently associated with male gender (odds ratio (OR) = 0.809, P = 0.003), increased age (P = 0.0001), diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.269, P = 0.03), left ventricular systolic function (wall motion index) (P = 0.02), onset from midnight to 0600h (OR = 1.434, P = 0.0001), onset on a weekday (OR = 0.862, P = 0.04), history of angina pectoris (OR = 1.198, P = 0.02), chest pain as initial symptom (OR = 1.293, P = 0.02), ventricular fibrillation (OR = 0.562, P = 0.0001), ventricular tachycardia (OR = 0.620, P = 0.0001), Killip class > or = 3 (OR = 0.709 P = 0.002), presence of ST elevation (OR = 0.810, P = 0.01) and ST depressions (OR = 0.847, P = 0.01). All these variables, except history of diabetes mellitus, angina pectoris, and chest pain as an initial symptom were also associated with a delay of more than 6 h. Thrombolytic therapy was administered to 55.8% of patients admitted within 2 h of an acute myocardial infarction, 48.5% of patients admitted within 2-6 h, 31.5% of patients admitted after 6-12 h and 11.9% of patients arriving later than 12 h after start of symptoms. CONCLUSION. Pat