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• All creatinine-based equations used for estimated glomerular filtration rate predicted in-hospital worsening renal function (the higher sensitivity/specificity ratio pertained to BIS-1 formula respect to MDRD, CKD-Epi and Cockroft-Gault ones). • Measure of physical performance such as gait speed (not reported in current cardiac risk scores) increased significantly their accuracy. • These findings suggest that a more accurate assessment of renal function and of physical performance should be incorporated into cardiac surgery risk scores, in order to improve prediction of in-hospital worsening renal function and, hence, risk stratification in older adults undergoing elective cardiac surgery. Though renal impairment is highly prevalent in older patients and influence post-operative outcomes in cardiac surgery; its prognostic relevance is debated and not fully assessed by surgical risk scores. We investigated the predictive role of estimated glomerular filtration rate formulas for in-hospital worsening renal function (WRF) after cardiac surgery. We prospectively enrolled in single-center cohort study, patients aged ≥ 75 years candidate to elective cardiac surgery. Four creatinine-based equations were used to calculate estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) formulas: Cockroft-Gault, Modification of Diet in Renal Disease, Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology, and Berlin Initiative Study 1 formulas. Each patient underwent geriatric and clinical evaluation before surgery with calculation of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons scores. In-hospital WRF was defined as a composite of an increase in SCr ≥0.5 mg/dl or the occurrence of grade III KDIGO acute kidney injury. The association between each eGFR equation, alone and in models including clinical variables, and WRF was analyzed using logistic regressions and ROC analysis. WRF occurred in 69 patients (19.8%), and the predictors of WRF were previous acute myocardial infarction, hypertension, 4-mt gait speed performance, and preoperative eGFR, irrespective of the equation used. With all equations, inclusion of these additional variables in the logistic regression models improved the prediction of WRF (AUCs 0.798–0.810). An accurate assessment of renal function and of physical performance should be incorporated into cardiac surgery risk scores to improve prediction of in-hospital WRF and, hence, risk stratification in older adults undergoing elective cardiac surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether the association between very high HDL-cholesterol levels and cardiovascular mortality (CVM) is modulated by some facilitating factors is unclear. Aim of the study was to investigate whether the risk of CVM associated with very high HDL-cholesterol is increased in subjects with hyperuricemia. Multivariable Cox analyses were made in 18,072 participants from the multicentre URRAH study stratified by sex and HDL-cholesterol category. During a median follow-up of 11.4 years there were 1307 cases of CVM. In multivariable Cox models a J-shaped association was found in the whole population, with the highest risk being present in the high HDL-cholesterol group [>80 mg/dL, adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 1.28; 95%CI, 1.02–1.61; p = 0.031)]. However, a sex-specific analysis revealed that this association was present only in women (HR, 1.34; 95%CI, 1.02–1.77; p = 0.034) but not in men. The risk of CVM related to high HDL-cholesterol was much greater in the women with high uric acid (>0.30 mmol/L, HR 1.61; 95%CI, 1.08–2.39) than in those with low uric acid (HR, 1.17; 95%CI, 0.80–1.72, p for interaction = 0.016). In women older than 70 years with hyperuricemia the risk related to high HDL-cholesterol was 1.83 (95%CI, 1.19–2.80, p < 0.005). Inclusion of BMI in the models weakened the strength of the associations. Our data indicate that very high HDL-cholesterol levels in women are associated with CVM in a J-shaped fashion. The risk of CVM is increased by concomitant hyperuricemia suggesting that a proinflammatory/oxidative state can enhance the detrimental cardiovascular effects associated with high HDL-cholesterol. • During a median follow-up of 11.4 years a J-shaped association was found between HDL-cholesterol and cardiovascular mortality. • The highest risk was present in the high HDL-cholesterol group with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.28; 95%CI, 1.02–1.61; p = 0.031. • A sex-specific analysis revealed that this association was present in women but not in men. • The risk of cardiovascular mortality related to high HDL-cholesterol was much greater in the women with high uric acid than in those with low uric acid. • In women older than 70 years with hyperuricemia the risk related to high HDL-cholesterol was 1.83 (95%CI, 1.19–2.80, p < 0.005). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nursing home (NH) residents have been dramatically affected by COVID-19, with extremely high rates of hospitalization and mortality. Aims: To describe the features and impact of an assistance model involving an intermediate care mobile medical specialist team (GIROT, Gruppo Intervento Rapido Ospedale Territorio) aimed at delivering "hospital-at-nursing home" care to NH residents with COVID-19 in Florence, Italy. Methods: The GIROT activity was set-up during the first wave of the pandemic (W1, March–April 2020) and became a structured healthcare model during the second (W2, October 2020–January 2021). The activity involved (1) infection transmission control among NHs residents and staff, (2) comprehensive geriatric assessment including prognostication and geriatric syndromes management, (3) on-site diagnostic assessment and protocol-based treatment of COVID-19, (4) supply of nursing personnel to understaffed NHs. To estimate the impact of the GIROT intervention, we reported hospitalization and infection lethality rates recorded in SARS-CoV-2-positive NH residents during W1 and W2. Results: The GIROT activity involved 21 NHs (1159 residents) and 43 NHs (2448 residents) during W1 and W2, respectively. The percentage of infected residents was higher in W2 than in W1 (64.5% vs. 38.8%), while both hospitalization and lethality rates significantly decreased in W2 compared to W1 (10.1% vs 58.2% and 23.4% vs 31.1%, respectively). Discussion: Potentiating on-site care in the NHs paralleled a decrease of hospital admissions with no increase of lethality. Conclusions: An innovative "hospital-at-nursing home" patient-centred care model based on comprehensive geriatric assessment may provide a valuable contribution in fighting COVID-19 in NH residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are highly prevalent in older adults and represent a major geriatric health-care concern. Management of CVD in older patients may be challenging due to specific geriatric issues, such as frailty and multi-morbidity, which may influence patients' outcomes. In this clinical context, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies should target those outcomes that have higher priority in geriatric health care, including disability prevention and quality of life. Older adults with CVD should be offered a reasonably optimized treatment, customized to the individual's frailty level and functional status. Yet, most clinical trials excluded comorbid and frail patients and evidence to support CVD management in this vulnerable population is lacking. Therefore, a geriatric approach is needed in cardiovascular medicine, characterized by a holistic, patient-centered perspective focusing on functional status and quality of life. With a view to promote the geriatric approach in the management of older patients with CVD, the EuGMS Special Interest Group (SIG) on Cardiovascular Medicine was founded in 2018, consisting of a network of geriatricians with an extensive expertise in geriatric cardiovascular medicine. The present position paper aims to present the Cardiovascular SIG and illustrate its main purposes and action programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serum uric acid (SUA) levels discriminating across the different strata of cardiovascular risk is still unknown. By utilizing a large population-based database, we assessed the threshold of SUA that increases the risk of total mortality and cardiovascular mortality (CVM). The URRAH study (Uric Acid Right for Heart Health) is a multicentre retrospective, observational study, which collected data from several large population-based longitudinal studies in Italy and subjects recruited in the hypertension clinics of the Italian Society of Hypertension. Total mortality was defined as mortality for any cause, CVM as death due to fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, sudden cardiac death, or heart failure. A total of 22 714 subjects were included in the analysis. Multivariate Cox regression analyses identified an independent association between SUA and total mortality (hazard ratio, 1.53 [95% CI, 1.21-1.93]) or CVM (hazard ratio, 2.08 [95% CI, 1.146-2.97]; P<0.001). Cutoff values of SUA able to discriminate total mortality (4.7 mg/dL [95% CI, 4.3-5.1 mg/dL]) and CVM status (5.6 mg/dL [95% CI, 4.99-6.21 mg/dL]) were identified. The information on SUA levels provided a significant net reclassification improvement of 0.26 and of 0.27 over the Heart Score risk chart for total mortality and CVM, respectively (P<0.001). Sex-specific cutoff values for total mortality and CVM were also identified and validated. In conclusion, SUA levels increasing the risk of total mortality and CVM are significantly lower than those used for the definition of hyperuricemia in clinical practice. Our data provide evidence of a cardiovascular SUA threshold that might contribute in clinical practice to improve identification of patients at higher risk of CVM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key summary points: Aim: To investigate potential relationships between orthostatic hypotension (OH) and negative health outcomes and mortality, through an umbrella review with integrated meta-analyses. Findings: Orthostatic hypotension is significantly associated with several negative outcomes in older people, but a suggestive evidence is available only for higher risk of coronary heart disease congestive heart failure, stroke, falls dementia, and all-cause mortality. Message: Orthostatic hypotension seems to be significantly associated with several negative health outcomes in older people, even if only associations with coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, falls, dementia, and all-cause mortality are supported by suggestive evidence. Purpose: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is associated with older age and many negative clinical outcomes in geriatric practice. We aimed to capture the breadth of outcomes that have been associated with the presence of OH and systematically assess the quality, strength and credibility of these associations using an umbrella review with integrated meta-analyses. Methods: We systematically searched several major databases from their commencements through to 16th May 2019 for meta-analyses of observational studies of OH and any health-related outcome. We used these metrics to categorize the strength of evidence of significant outcomes (p < 0.05) from class I (convincing) to class IV (weak), according to the pre-established criteria. Results: From 975 abstracts, seven meta-analyses of 12 outcomes were included. For each outcome, the median number of studies was four, and the median number of participants was 46,493, with a median of 3630 incident cases. There was suggestive (class III) evidence that OH was associated with significantly higher risk of coronary heart disease (HR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.12–1.56), stroke (HR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.08–1.38), congestive heart failure (HR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.09–1.55), all-cause mortality (RR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.24–1.81), falls (OR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.39–2.44), and dementia (HR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.11–1.35). Conclusion: The current evidence base indicates that OH is significantly associated with a range of adverse cardiovascular, cognitive, and mortality outcomes in older people, although the strength of this evidence remains only suggestive. Further research in larger samples and with lower risk of bias is required to build a fuller picture of the impact of OH on health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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