[The healthcare professional's encounter with the seriously ill and dying patient in the hospital].

Seriously ill patients often fear not death but dying in pain and solitude. This review emphasises setting treatment ceilings and prioritising palliation over unnecessary interventions. Such discussions are best held in calm settings but can be challenging in acute situations.

Integration of rehabilitation and palliation for people with severe lung disease or heart failure - a scoping review.

Traditionally, rehabilitation and palliative care are delivered as separate services, where rehabilitation focuses on regaining physical functions and palliative care on symptom relief and existential support. There is growing recognition of the potential benefit in integrating these approaches. This scoping review explores how integration or coordination of rehabilitation and palliative care is described in the literature, with a focus on heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and interstitial lung disease.

Two-Year Mortality and Prognostic Factors in Sepsis: A Prospective Cohort Study of 714 Danish Emergency Department Patients.

Objective: Given the lack of data on long-term outcomes among patients with sepsis, this study aimed to examine all-cause 2-year mortality and factors associated with mortality in adults admitted to an emergency department with sepsis.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Methods: This study included all emergency department patients admitted with sepsis to Slagelse Hospital, Denmark, between October 1, 2017, and March 31, 2018.

Abated crowding by fast-tracking the Throughput component of the ED for patients in no need of hospitalization with competency managed personnel.

Background: Emergency department (ED) crowding is a major patient safety concern and has a negative impact on healthcare systems and healthcare providers. We hypothesized that it would be feasible to control crowding by employing a multifaceted approach consisting of systematically fast-tracking patients who are mostly not in need of a hospital stay as assessed by an initial nurse and treated by decision competent physicians.

Methods: Data from 120,901 patients registered in a secondary care ED from the 4t quarter of 2021 to the 1st quarter of 2024 was drawn from the electronic health record's data warehouse using the SAP Web Intelligence tool and processed in the Python programming language.

Transforming health care: Investigating Influenzer, a novel telemedicine-supported early discharge program for patients with lower respiratory tract infection: A non-randomized feasibility study.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to healthcare systems globally, necessitating innovative care models like hospital-at-home and virtual care programs. The Influenzer telemedicine program aims to deliver hospital-led monitoring and treatment to patients at home. Integrating telemedicine technology with domestic visits provides an alternative to traditional hospitalization, with the aim of easing the burden on healthcare facilities without compromising patient safety.

National Early Warning Score and New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation for Predicting In-Hospital Mortality or Transfer to the Intensive Care Unit in Emergency Department Patients with Suspected Bacterial Infections.

Purpose: There are conflicting data regarding the role of the National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) in predicting adverse outcomes in patients with infectious diseases. New-onset atrial fibrillation (NO-AF) has been suggested as a sepsis-defining sign of organ dysfunction. This study aimed to examine the prognostic accuracy of NEWS2 and whether NO-AF can provide prognostic information in emergency department (ED) patients with suspected bacterial infections.

Update on management of hypokalaemia and goals for the lower potassium level in patients with cardiovascular disease: a review in collaboration with the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy.

Hypokalaemia is common in patients with cardiovascular disease. In this review, we emphasize the importance of tight potassium regulation in patients with cardiovascular disease based on findings from observational studies. To enhance the understanding, we also describe the mechanisms of potassium homeostasis maintenance, the most common causes of hypokalaemia and present strategies for monitoring and management of low potassium levels.

The age of randomized clinical trials: three important aspects of randomized clinical trials in cardiovascular pharmacotherapy with examples from lipid, diabetes, and antithrombotic trials.

This review article aims to explain the important issues that data safety monitoring boards (DSMB) face when considering early termination of a trial and is specifically addressed to the needs of clinical and research cardiologists. We give an insight into the overall background and then focus on the three principal reasons for stopping trials, i.e.

Antithrombotic therapy and major adverse limb events in patients with chronic lower extremity arterial disease: systematic review and meta-analysis from the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy in Collaboration with the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Aorta and Peripheral Vascular Diseases.

Aims: The role and selection of antithrombotic therapy to improve limb outcomes in chronic lower extremity artery disease (LEAD) is still debated. We conducted a meta-analysis to examine the efficacy and safety of antithrombotic and more intense antithrombotic therapy on limb outcomes and limb salvage in patients with chronic LEAD.

Methods And Results: Study inclusion criteria were: enrolment of patients with LEAD, randomized allocation to more vs.

Oral anticoagulation in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 1: a current opinion of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy and European Society of Cardiology Council on Stroke.

Oral anticoagulation in patients presenting with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 1 (CHA2DS2-VASc of 2 in women) remains a challenging approach in clinical practice. Therapeutic decisions need to balance the individual benefit of reducing thromboembolic risk against the potential harm due to an increase in bleeding risk in this intermediate risk patient population. Within the current opinion statement of the European Society of Cardiology working group of cardiovascular pharmacotherapy and the European Society of Cardiology council on stroke the currently available evidence on the anti-thrombotic management in patients presenting with a CHA2DS2-VASc of 1 is summarized.

Potassium homoeostasis and pathophysiology of hyperkalaemia.

Determination of potassium level is one of the most frequent laboratory tests in clinical medicine. Hyperkalaemia is defined as a potassium level >5.0 mmol/L and is one of the most clinically important electrolyte abnormalities, because it may cause dangerous cardiac arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death.

Hospitalisation in short-stay units for adults with internal medicine diseases and conditions.

Background: Short-stay units are hospital units that provide short-term care for selected patients. Studies have indicated that short-stay units might reduce admission rates, time of hospital stays, hospital readmissions and expenditure without compromising the quality of care. Short-stay units are often defined by a target patient category, a target function, and a target time frame.

Reasons for disparity in statin adherence rates between clinical trials and real-world observations: a review.

With statins, the reported rate of adverse events differs widely between randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and observations in clinical practice, the rates being 1-2% in RCTs vs. 10-20% in the so-called real world. One possible explanation is the claim that RCTs mostly use a run-in period with a statin.

Short-stay unit hospitalisation vs. standard care outcomes in older internal medicine patients-a randomised clinical trial.

Background: the effect of hospitalisation in emergency department-based short-stay units (SSUs) has not been studied in older patients. We compared SSU hospitalisation with standard care at an Internal Medicine Department (IMD) in acutely admitted older internal medicine patients.

Methods: pragmatic randomised clinical trial.

Expert consensus document on the management of hyperkalaemia in patients with cardiovascular disease treated with renin angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitors: coordinated by the Working Group on Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy of the European Society of Cardiology.

Renin angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitors/antagonists/blockers (RAASi) are a cornerstone in treatment of patients with cardiovascular diseases especially in those with heart failure (HF) due to their proven effect on surrogate and hard endpoints. Renin angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitors are also the basis in treatment of arterial hypertension, and they are furthermore indicated to reduce events and target organ damage in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease, where they have specific indication because of the evidence of benefit. Renin angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitor therapy, however, is associated with an increased risk of hyperkalaemia.

Hospitalisation in an emergency department short-stay unit compared to an internal medicine department is associated with fewer complications in older patients - an observational study.

Background: Older patients are at particular risk of experiencing adverse events during hospitalisation.

Objective: To compare the frequencies and types of adverse events during hospitalisation in older persons acutely admitted to either an Emergency Department Short-stay Unit (SSU) or an Internal Medicine Department (IMD).

Methods: Observational study evaluating adverse events during hospitalisation in non-emergent, age-matched, internal medicine patients ≥75 years, acutely admitted to either the SSU or the IMD at Holbaek Hospital, Denmark, from January to August, 2014.

Colles' fractures and osteoporosis--A new role for the Emergency Department.

Purpose: In Denmark, guidelines from the Danish Orthopedic Society recommend that patients older than 65 years who sustain a Colles' fracture should be referred to assessment of underlying osteoporosis. An assessment of referral rates at our hospital during the period October 2010-September 2013 showed that none were referred. Due to this, an automatic out-patient referral system for assessment of underlying osteoporosis was established.

Establishment of ultrasound as a diagnostic aid in the referral of patients with abdominal pain in an emergency department - a pilot study.

Purpose: Ultrasonography is a noninvasive, cheap, and fast way of assessing abdominal pain in an emergency department. Many physicians working in emergency departments do not have pre-existing ultrasound experience. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of first-year internship doctors to perform a reliable ultrasound examination on patients with abdominal pain in an emergency setting.

Comprehension deficits among older patients in a quick diagnostic unit.

Background: Higher prevalence of multiple illnesses and cognitive impairment among older patients pose a risk of comprehension difficulties, potentially leading to medication errors. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate comprehension of discharge instructions among older patients admitted to a Quick Diagnostic Unit (QDU).

Methods: One hundred and two patients discharged from the QDU answered a questionnaire covering understanding of their hospitalization and discharge plan.