Because the number of @entity1 who require hospitalization for @entity712 is increasing, their treatment is often entrusted to physicians operating in Departments of General Medicine. Published data on the in-hospital treatment of @entity712 in Italy have not been available up to now, as they are limited only to @entity1 admitted to Department of Cardiology. This study concerns the @entity1 who were discharged from our Hospital after a diagnosis of @entity712 (International Classification of Disease--9th Edition, code 428) from January 1 to February 28, 1998. Information collected from @entity1 hospital records included: age, sex, department to which the @entity1 was referred (General Medicine or Cardiology), cause of @entity712 , New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, symptoms and signs of @entity712 , therapy, length of hospitalization and in-hospital mortality. Of the 178 @entity1 identified (82 males--46.1%, 96 females--53.9%, mean age 78 +/- 11 years) 163 (91.6%) were referred to Departments of General Medicine. The cause of @entity712 was @entity453 in 88 (49.4%) @entity1 , arterial @entity101 in 40 (22.4%), @entity296 in 28 (15.7%), @entity340 in 22 (12.3%). NYHA functional class was reported or deducible from the severity of @entity1353 in 57 (32%) @entity1 . In 8 (4.6%) @entity1 symptoms or signs of @entity712 were not reported. Chest X-ray was performed in 77.6% of cases, echocardiography in 41%, ambulatory electrocardiography in 10% and coronary arteriography in 5%. Left ventricular ejection fraction was known in 90 (51.6%) @entity1 , in 44 (48.9%) of these it was > or = 45%. ACE-inhibitors were used in 99 (55.6%) @entity1 , but this percentage rose to 63% when considering only @entity1 with left ventricular ejection fraction < 45%. Eighty-five @entity1 were treated with @entity3371 or @entity4688 ; in 52 @entity1 (61.4%) the daily dose of @entity3371 was < 75 mg and that of @entity4688 was < 20 mg. Diuretics were utilized in 155 (87%) @entity1 , digoxin in 123 (69%), beta-blocker agents in 5 (2.8%) and other vasodilators in 95 (53%). The mean length of hospitalization was 13 +/- 9 days and the overall in-hospital mortality was 18%. In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrate that the @entity1 who are discharged from our hospital with a diagnosis of @entity712 are, on the average, very old. The vast majority of these @entity1 are admitted to the Departments of General Medicine. The advanced age of our @entity1 can explain the limited use of ACE-inhibitors and, especially, of beta-blockers.

[Treatment of XXXX at a hospital in the north-east of Italy].

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity4688 :: ('MESH:D004656', 'Chemical') :: ['enalapril'] @entity296 :: ('MESH:D009202', 'Disease') :: ['primary cardiomyopathy'] @entity712 :: ('MESH:D006333', 'Disease') :: ['heart failure'] @entity101 :: ('MESH:D006973', 'Disease') :: ['hypertension'] @entity1353 :: ('MESH:D004417', 'Disease') :: ['dyspnea'] @entity3371 :: ('CHEBI:3380', 'Chemical') :: ['captopril'] @entity453 :: ('MESH:D003324', 'Disease') :: ['coronary artery disease'] @entity340 :: ('MESH:D006349', 'Disease') :: ['valvular heart disease']
@entity712 :: (MESH:D006333,Disease) :: ['heart failure']
