Cancer was diagnosed in 13.1% and gastrointestinal cancer in 11.2% of patients with IDA. Significant risk factors for gastrointestinal malignancy in IDA patients are male sex, age over 50 years and haemoglobin at presentation < or =9.0 g/dl. IDA should not be attributed to aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or warfarin use.

Background Clinical complexity is increasingly prevalent among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The ‘Atrial fibrillation Better Care’ (ABC) pathway approach has been proposed to streamline a more holistic and integrated approach to AF care; however, there are limited data on its usefulness among clinically complex patients. We aim to determine the impact of ABC pathway in a contemporary cohort of clinically complex AF patients. Methods From the ESC-EHRA EORP-AF General Long-Term Registry, we analysed clinically complex AF patients, defined as the presence of frailty, multimorbidity and/or polypharmacy. A K-medoids cluster analysis was performed to identify different groups of clinical complexity. The impact of an ABC-adherent approach on major outcomes was analysed through Cox-regression analyses and delay of event (DoE) analyses. Results Among 9966 AF patients included, 8289 (83.1%) were clinically complex. Adherence to the ABC pathway in the clinically complex group reduced the risk of all-cause death (adjusted HR [aHR]: 0.72, 95%CI 0.58–0.91), major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs; aHR: 0.68, 95%CI 0.52–0.87) and composite outcome (aHR: 0.70, 95%CI: 0.58–0.85). Adherence to the ABC pathway was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of death (aHR: 0.74, 95%CI 0.56–0.98) and composite outcome (aHR: 0.76, 95%CI 0.60–0.96) also in the high-complexity cluster; similar trends were observed for MACEs. In DoE analyses, an ABC-adherent approach resulted in significant gains in event-free survival for all the outcomes investigated in clinically complex patients. Based on absolute risk reduction at 1 year of follow-up, the number needed to treat for ABC pathway adherence was 24 for all-cause death, 31 for MACEs and 20 for the composite outcome. Conclusions An ABC-adherent approach reduces the risk of major outcomes in clinically complex AF patients. Ensuring adherence to the ABC pathway is essential to improve clinical outcomes among clinically complex AF patients.

Aims The 4S-AF classification scheme comprises of four domains: stroke risk (St), symptoms (Sy), severity of atrial fibrillation (AF) burden (Sb), and substrate (Su). We sought to examine the implementation of the 4S-AF scheme in the EORP-AF General Long-Term Registry and compare outcomes in AF patients according to the 4S-AF-led decision-making process. Methods and results  Atrial fibrillation patients from 250 centres across 27 European countries were included. A 4S-AF score was calculated as the sum of each domain with a maximum score of 9. Of 6321 patients, 8.4% had low (St), 47.5% EHRA I (Sy), 40.5% newly diagnosed or paroxysmal AF (Sb), and 5.1% no cardiovascular risk factors or left atrial enlargement (Su). Median follow-up was 24 months. Using multivariable Cox regression analysis, independent predictors of all-cause mortality were (St) [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 8.21, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.60–25.9], (Sb) (aHR 1.21, 95% CI: 1.08–1.35), and (Su) (aHR 1.27, 95% CI: 1.14–1.41). For CV mortality and any thromboembolic event, only (Su) (aHR 1.73, 95% CI: 1.45–2.06) and (Sy) (aHR 1.29, 95% CI: 1.00–1.66) were statistically significant, respectively. None of the domains were independently linked to ischaemic stroke or major bleeding. Higher 4S-AF score was related to a significant increase in all-cause mortality, CV mortality, any thromboembolic event, and ischaemic stroke but not major bleeding. Treatment of all 4S-AF domains was associated with an independent decrease in all-cause mortality (aHR 0.71, 95% CI: 0.55–0.92). For each 4S-AF domain left untreated, the risk of all-cause mortality increased substantially (aHR 1.35, 95% CI: 1.16–1.56). Conclusion  Implementation of the novel 4S-AF scheme is feasible, and treatment decisions based on this scheme improve mortality rates in AF.

The uptake of 59Fe ascorbate by suspensions of human enterocytes prepared from endoscopically derived duodenal biopsies was studied, with each subject's serum ferritin concentration determined at the time of endoscopy. Iron uptake was greatest at 37 degrees C. Uptake increased from pH 5.5 to 7.3, before being totally inhibited at pH 9.0. However, ferrous ion concentration, determined by 3-(2-Pyridyl)-5,6-bis(4-phenyl sulfonic acid)-1,2,4-triazine, was greatest at pH 5.5 and fell over this pH range. The rate of uptake was significantly greater by enterocytes isolated from individuals with a low serum ferritin (< 22 ng/L) compared with those with normal serum ferritin (> 22 ng/L). Vmax +/- (SEM) was 78.7 +/- 8.5 pmol Fe/(micrograms DNA.min) in the normal group (n = 12) and 141 +/- 17.2 pmol Fe/(micrograms DNA.min) in the low ferritin group (n = 4, P < 0.008). Corresponding Km values were 52.5 +/- 11.7 and 66.7 +/- 5.1 mumol/L, respectively (P < 0.91). Zinc, lead, cobalt and manganese added to the incubation buffer significantly lowered iron uptake into cells (unselected patients). The concentrations of each metal required to halve the uptake rate from 50 mumol/L iron (IC50) were 85 +/- 5 mumol/L (Zn), 570 +/- 170 mumol/L (Pb), 1.1 +/- 0.1 mmol/L (Co), and 3.8 +/- 0.7 mmol/L (Mn). The results demonstrate that enterocytes isolated by this method show the characteristics of iron uptake seen in animal studies. We suggest that these cells will be useful in the study of iron uptake in humans.