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Although each year in the U.S. more than 1 million patients with heart failure present to emergency departments, care and admission rates vary considerably among EDs and do not necessarily correlate with disease acuity. In a retrospective cohort study, these authors validated a recently published clinical decision rule: the Acute Heart Failure Index (Acad Emerg Med 2005 Jun; 12:514). The rule incorporates data on demographics, medical history, and vital signs, along with laboratory, electrocardiogram, and chest x-ray findings to predict short-term risk in patients with heart failure. Short-term risk was defined as inpatient death, serious medical complications before discharge, or death within 30 days of hospitalization.
The study population…