INTRODUCTION: There are barriers to proper implementation of risk stratification scores in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), including their complexity. Our objective was to develop a simple score for risk stratification of all-cause in-hospital mortality in a population of patients with ACS. METHODS: The score was developed from a nationwide ACS registry. The development and internal validation cohorts were obtained from the first 31829 patients, randomly separated (60% and 40%, respectively). The external validation cohort consisted of the last 8586 patients included in the registry. This cohort is significantly different from the other cohorts in terms of baseline characteristics, treatment and mortality. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to select four variables with the highest predictive potential. A score was allocated to each parameter based on the regression coefficient of each variable in the logistic regression model: 1 point for systolic blood pressure ≤116 mmHg, Killip class 2 or 3, and ST-segment elevation; 2 points for age ≥72 years; and 3 points for Killip class 4. RESULTS: The new score had good discriminative ability in the development cohort (area under the curve [AUC] 0.796), and it was similar in the internal validation cohort (AUC 0.785, p=0.333). In the external validation cohort, there was also excellent discriminative ability (AUC 0.815), with an adequate fit. CONCLUSIONS: The ProACS risk score enables easy and simple risk stratification of patients with ACS for in-hospital mortality that can be used at the first medical contact, with excellent predictive ability in a contemporary population.

BACKGROUND: NT-proBNP has prognostic implications in heart failure. In acute coronary syndromes (ACS) setting, the prognostic significance of NT-proBNP is being sought. We studied short-term prognostic impact of admission NT-proBNP in patients admitted for ACS and in association with GRACE risk score (GRS). METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 1035 patients admitted with ACS. Patients were divided in quartiles according to NT-proBNP levels on admission: Q1 <180 pg/ml; Q2 180-691 pg/ml; Q3 696-2664 pg/ml; Q4 2698-35 000 pg/ml. Groups were compared in terms of short-term all-cause mortality. Patients with higher NT-proBNP had worst GRS on admission. They also received less aggressive treatment. In-hospital mortality was 0.8%, 3.0%, 5.8% and 12.8% (P<0.001) and 30-day mortality 1.6%, 4.6%, 6.5% and 16.7% (P<0.001) respectively. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, NT-proBNP is an independent predictor of in-hospital (OR 2.35; 95% CI: 1.12-4.93, P=0.022) and 30-day mortality (OR 2.20; 95% CI: 1.17-4.12, P=0.014). However, NT-proBNP does not add any incremental benefit to GRS for prediction of outcome by ROC curve analysis. CONCLUSIONS: NT-proBNP is an independent predictor of in-hospital and 30-day mortality after ACS, independently of left ventricular function, but does not increase the prognostic accuracy of GRS.

Abstract Background: It is known that predisposing factors for periodontal disease (PD) and cardiovascular diseases are similar, just as dissemination of oral flora pathogens can induce the development of cardiovascular diseases, which play a direct role on the morbimortality of patients. Objective: To assess the impact of periodontal disease in the presence of acute coronary syndrome on late morbimortality after long-term follow-up of patients (10 years). Methods: The historical prospective study of continuous assessment was based on the evaluation of 345 medical records of patients hospitalized for acute coronary syndrome, divided into 3 groups: edentulous, with periodontal disease and without periodontal disease. The patients studied were in the ICU, in 2006, with a clinical picture of acute coronary syndrome submitted to invasive stratification with coronary angiography on the basis of clinical indication and were reassessed over the next 10 years. The qualitative variables were compared using the Chi-square test. Long-term mortality was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier curves, quantified with the hazard ratio (HR) and a confidence interval of 95% and compared through Cox regression. P values of less than or equal to 0.05 were regarded as statistically significant. Results: Of the 345 patients, 233 had at least one coronary obstruction greater than or equal to 50%, being the main group for comparison according to the different status of periodontal disease (without periodontal disease, with periodontal disease and edentulous). In this cardiovascular condition, we found a difference in mortality among edentulous patients compared to those free of periodontal disease, with a p = 0.004 and a hazard ratio of 10.496 (95% CI: 4.988-22.089). A significant difference was also noted between edentulous patients and patients with periodontal disease, with a p = 0.0017 and a hazard ratio of 2.512 (95% CI: 1.491-4.234). Conclusion: A significant increase in mortality was found according with the progression of periodontal disease, which justifies its classification as an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases, as well as the need for prevention and treatment of oral diseases.