Mortality Predictors in Coronary Care in Turkey

The MORCOR-TURK study will be conducted as a nationwide registry in 50 tertiary cardiology centers selected from each EuroStat NUTS region in Turkey according to their population sample weight, prioritizing the volume of hospitals in each region. All consecutive patients admitted to the coronary care units (CCU) will be prospectively admitted during a predefined period of 1 month. The study will be conducted by cardiologists in hospitals who regularly treat cardiac patients. Led by the Cardiology Department of Kutahya Evliya Celebi Research and Training Hospital, 50 centers will be included in the study.

There has not been any large-scale epidemiological study on coronary care patients in Turkey recently. Therefore, up-to-date information in this group of patients is lacking. In particular, significant reductions in mortality and morbidity are expected, thanks to improved medical and interventional facilities. In the light of current data, the investigators designed a large-scale study to document mortality rates and predictors in CCU patients.

In this study, the investigators will include consecutive patients admitted to CCU with cardiovascular indications in all participating centers. Patients will be followed and treated by experienced cardiologists and no further experimental intervention will be planned. In the first part of the study, the investigators will record in-hospital mortality rates and try to identify the best predictors. In the second part of the MORCOR-TURK trial which will have a cohort design, the investigators will follow the successfully discharged patients for 1 year. At the end of the follow-up, investigators will assess the risk factors and predictors of cardiovascular events as secondary endpoints.

Inclusion criteria

• 18 years of age or older
• hospitalized with cardiovascular diseases
• individuals (or relatives for unconscious patients) who gave written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• younger than 18 years of age
• rejecting to sign an informed consent
• hospitalized to CCU by other departments with noncardiac indications
• patients with active severe noncardiac chronic disease (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, systemic diseases, and malignancy)
• no vital signs despite adequate cardiopulmonary resuscitation during hospitalization
• rejected to stay in CCU and discharged with his/her own request