Active clinical trials for "Death"

Randomized controlled trial of acute use of electronic cigarette or tobacco cigarette on parameters of ventricular repolarization.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the use of domperidone is associated with an increased risk of serious cardiac events among postpartum women in the six months following delivery. The hypothesis is that the use of domperidone will be associated with an increased risk of serious cardiac events among postpartum women. The investigators will carry out separate population-based cohort studies using health care databases in five Canadian provinces. Women with live births will be eligible to enter the cohort. We will identify all women who start domperidone during the six months following delivery and match them to similar women who do not start domperidone, with all included women followed until the occurrence of an adverse cardiac event or for up to six months after delivery. The results from the separate sites will be combined to provide an overall assessment of the risk of serious cardiac events in users of domperidone.

All patients enrolled in the Austrian LifeVest Registry will be retrospectively screened for successfully completed ambulatory or stationary rehabilitation program. Baseline characteristics, complete rehab data, outcomes and follow up data, as well as wearable cardioverter defibrillator(WCD)-derived data will be collected from these patients. Specifically, performance data from the start of the exercise training (ET) will be compared to the end of ET; including type of training, exertion, time and duration will be collected. In addition, WCD recorded data such as automatically and manually recorded ECGs, compliance, and TRENDS data will be collected.

Investigate the therapeutic effects of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine on early outcomes of deceased renal transplant patients.

The purpose of this study is to examine key organizational structures and processes (leadership, teamwork, communication, palliative care) and their impact on the quality of end-of-life care for dying residents and their family members.

We hypothesized that brain death is associated with an early systemic inflammatory response, possibly combined with activation of apoptotic cell death, two events that may contribute to induce rapid organ dysfunction. In this study of brain-dead donors and controls, we assayed plasma cytokines and soluble factors, investigated plasma endotoxin levels as a triggering factor for inflammation, measured ex vivo cytokine production by blood leukocytes to determine whether immunosuppression occurred after brain death, and examined skeletal muscle biopsies to look for evidence of inflammation and increased apoptosis in peripheral tissue.

Despite pharmacologic advances for the treatment of congestive heart failure (HF), sudden cardiac death (SCD) and pump failure remain the leading causes of mortality in patients with HF. Although, SCD is poorly understood, implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD) have been shown to be an effective, but costly therapy in preventing SCD. At present, left ventricular systolic dysfunction is our best independent predictor of SCD, but only moderately predicts those patients who will eventually benefit from the placement of an ICD and, in most cases, left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction is a non-modifiable risk factor once acquired. As a result, there exists an intensive search for biomarkers that could improve the prediction of SCD and have the potential for risk factor modification. Experimental and clinical evidence has established that inflammation plays a critical role in stable coronary disease, plaque rupture, acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and SCD. Studies at our institution have demonstrated that elevated levels of hsCRP and Interleukin-6 are predictive of arrhythmic SCD; however, the mechanism of causing this increased risk is unclear. Another well-known risk factor for SCD is abnormal sympathetic innervation. The most robust clinical test of sympathetic innervation to date is Iodine-123 Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) imaging with gamma scintigraphy. MIBG imaging has emerged as one of our strongest predictors of SCD by detecting sympathetic nervous system abnormalities in patients with HF. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests that myocardial inflammation adversely affects myocardial innervation. Based on these findings, the investigators hypothesize that elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers are associated with abnormal sympathetic innervation as measured by MIBG imaging. The investigators aim to establish the strength of this association. This proposal will leverage unique access to the largest, most extensively phenotyped cohort of patients who have undergone ICD implantation for primary prevention of SCD, the PRospective Observational Study of the ICD in SCD, (PROSE-ICD).

The purpose of the study is to proof the safety and efficacy of the new ICD sytem (Iforia/Ilesto). The devices are available with DF-1 and DF4 connection. A special focus is set on the ICD system with DF4 connection.

The purpose of this study is to test the acceptability and feasibility of a "toolkit" of patient decision aids (PtDAs) for heart failure patients who are considering an ICD implant.

After the death of a patient in the hyper-technical context of intensive care, his relatives are particularly vulnerable and often exhibit symptoms of anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress and complicated grief. The first results of a qualitative study Famiréa current (CAESAR) support the idea that the bereaved relatives suffer from persistent misunderstandings and a feeling of abandonment of the resuscitation team. Many families suggest the need for contact with the team after the patient's death. The letter of condolence received by some families allowed them to feel recognized in their pain resuscitation teams. This has led us to ask the question of post-death monitoring and interest to send to bereaved relatives a letter of condolence, as recommended by the American consensus conference in 2004 on good palliative care. This strategy would allow the recognition of both close to the pain but also the strong bond that united the resuscitation team. The hypothesis of the study is that the post-death followed in the form of a letter of condolence sent by the intensive care physician who was in charge of the patient, could reduce the risk of having symptoms of anxiety / depression and post-traumatic stress and reduce the rate of complicated grief. Famirea 22 is randomized clinical trial aimin to compare two bereaved groups: one group who did not receive a letter of condolence and a group that received a letter of condolence 15 days after the death.