Our study suggests that GDMT initiation is associated with increased survival, and discontinuation of therapy is associated with reduced survival in hospitalized patients with HF. Future studies should be conducted to confirm the impact of GDMT therapy modification in this population.

Core practices to improve medication safety were not implemented in many hospitals in Saudi Arabia. In developing countries, an effort must be made at the national level to increase the adoption of such practices.

Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) continues to increase in prevalence and is associated with substantial mortality and morbidity including frequent hospitalizations. The American Heart Association is predicting that more than eight million Americans will have heart failure by 2030 and that the total direct costs associated with the disease will rise from $21 billion in 2012 to $70 billion in 2030. The increase in the prevalence and cost of HF is primarily the result of shifting demographics and a growing population. Although many large, randomized, controlled clinical trials have been conducted in patients with chronic heart failure, it was not until recently that a growing number of studies began to address the management of ADHF. It is the intent of this review to update the clinician regarding the evaluation and optimal management of ADHF.

No abstract

Objective Medicare Part D claims are commonly used for research, but missing claims could compromise their validity. This study assessed two possible causes of missing claims: veteran status and Generic Drug Discount Programs (GDDP). Methods We merged medication self-reports from telephone interviews in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC) with Part D claims for six medications (three were commonly in GDDP in 2009). Merged records (4,468) were available for 2,905 ARIC participants enrolled in Part D. Multinomial logit regression provided estimates of the association of concordance (self-report & Part D, self-report only, or Part D only) with veteran and GDDP status, controlling for participant socio-demographics. Results Sample participants were 74±5 years of age, 68% white and 63% female; 19% were male veterans. Compared to females, male veterans were 11% (95% CI: 7%–16%) less likely to have matched medications in self-report & Part D and 11% (95% CI: 7%–16%) more likely to have self-report only. Records for GDDP versus non-GDDP medications were 4% (95% CI: 1%–7%) more likely to be in self-report & Part D and 3% (95% CI: 1%–5%) less likely to be in Part D only, with no difference in self-report only. Conclusions Part D claims were more likely to be missing for veterans, but claims for medications commonly available through GDDP were more likely to match with self-reports. While researchers should be aware of the possibility of missing claims, GDDP status was associated with a higher rather than lower likelihood of claims being complete in 2009.