Tag Archives: primary healthcare

Introduction Depression is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), with depressive symptoms affecting up to 45% of patients with CAD.1 Cardiac patients with depressive symptoms experience a 2 to 2.5-fold mortality increase when compared with cardiac patients without depressive symptoms.2 Screening tools include the patient health questionnaire (PHQ), which exists in two- and nine-question formats, with PHQ2 being nearly 90% sensitive and 73% specific for depression,3 and PHQ9 being 88% sensitive and 88% specific for depression.4 We examined the records of patients with CAD in an ambulato

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Introduction Venous thromboembolism (VTE), comprising deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), causes considerable morbidity and mortality.1 VTE is associated with 370,000 deaths per year in the European Union (EU), an estimated 12% of annual deaths.1 The average incidence of VTE in Europe is approximately 160–180 per 100,000 person-years.1 Three large phase III trials with rivaroxaban, a direct factor Xa inhibitor approved for the treatment and prevention of VTE, have provided a strong safety and efficacy evidence base (table 1). The EINSTEIN-DVT study compared rivaroxaban (15 mg twice daily for 21 days, followed by 20 mg on