Alba Riesgo

Diferencias de género en el manejo de los pacientes con fibrilación auricular: análisis de base poblacional en un área básica de salud

Differences in the treatment of atrial fibrillation between men and women were investigated by using patients in a local health district as a reference population. The study included 688 patients (359 female) who presented with atrial fibrillation. Women were older, more frequently had heart failure, and were more often functionally dependent than men. With regards to the management of atrial fibrillation, women were prescribed digoxin more frequently than men, but underwent electrical cardioversion less often, were less frequently seen by a cardiologist, and understood less about their treatment. After stratifying the findings by age and adjusting for heart failure and the degree of functional dependence, it was observed that women aged over 85 years were prescribed digoxin more often than men, while women aged under 65 years underwent cardioversion less often than men. In conclusion, gender differences observed in the treatment of atrial fibrillation cannot be fully explained by differences in clinical characteristics between men and women in the population.

Comparación del manejo del infarto de miocardio sin elevación del ST durante la asistencia urgente en función del sexo del paciente

The atypical characteristics of acute coronary syndrome in women lead to differences in management and treatment. We investigated these differences in the urgent management of non-ST-segment acute myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Data on 39 variables were collected from 539 patients with NSTEMI treated at 97 Spanish emergency departments. After adjustment for 10 baseline differences, the only significant differences were that time-to-arrival at the emergency department was longer for women (odds ratio [OR]=0.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.28-0.95) and that they received more clopidogrel (OR=1.65; 95% CI, 1.06-2.56). The trend to fewer admissions to coronary or intensive care units (42.9% vs 55.6%) and fewer catheterization procedures (29.7% vs 40.7%) disappeared after adjustment. We conclude that there are virtually no differences in treatment in women with N-STEMI in prehospital and emergency care.