Critical pathways in cardiology
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The Stroke Collaborative Reaching for Excellence is a voluntary stroke quality improvement (QI) collaborative led by a partnership between the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Since 2005, the collaborative has assisted Massachusetts Primary Stroke Service hospitals in improving the quality of acute stroke care based on national clinical guidelines. We provide a general overview for states seeking to establish a public-private partnership to promote hospital stroke QI. ⋯ Consistent participation and case entry confirm that a voluntary state-based hospital QI collaborative is feasible and sustainable. This occurred in the absence of continued hospital funding. Further research is needed to identify the relationship between program participation and improved patient care and the generalizability of the model.
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Review Comparative Study
Management of non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome: comparison of the updated guidelines from North America and Europe.
The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology published updated guidelines in 2011 for the management of patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome. In this article, we highlight the most important new recommendations, review their supporting data, describe differences between the guidelines, and discuss new literature published since the latest guidelines were released. Key updates include detailed guidance regarding early risk stratification, use of coronary computed tomography angiography, selection of initial management strategy, novel antiplatelet agents, and new measures to enhance performance and quality. ⋯ Meanwhile, unique recommendations in the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline include administration of prasugrel in selected patients before coronary angiography and consideration of continued dual antiplatelet therapy beyond 15 months after drug-eluting stent placement. Both guidelines include new recommendations endorsing platelet function and genetic testing in selected patients on clopidogrel, renal protection strategies, and less aggressive in patient's glycemic control. As these guidelines represent the most evidence-based approach, health care providers should become familiar with these updated recommendations to ensure optimal treatment of their patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome.
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The Acute Care Team Educational Initiative (ACTEI) was developed as a quality improvement initiative for the recognition and initial management of time-sensitive medical conditions. For our first time-sensitive disease process, we focused on acute stroke [acute stroke initiative (ASI)]. As part of the larger ACTEI, the ASI included creating an ACT that responds to all suspected emergency department stroke patients. In this article, we describe the planning, process, and development of the ACTEI/ASI as well as how we created an acute response team for the diagnosis and management of suspected acute stroke.
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Management of acute myocardial infarction with ST elevation (STEMI) remains a challenge for academic institutions. There are numerous factors at play from the time electrocardiogram is obtained to the time the patient arrives to a catheterization laboratory and the balloon is inflated. Academic hospitals that are located in large urban centers have to deal with staff living long distances from the facility, and therefore, assembling the catheterization team after-hours and on the weekends becomes a difficult task to achieve. ⋯ Therefore, it is imperative that institutions do all they can to improve their protocols and meet the core measures in the treatment of STEMI patients, including the door-to-balloon time of less than 90 minutes. Our institution started a quality improvement program for STEMI care in 1993 and has showed progressive improvement in use of aspirin, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and other medication, culminating in 95% to 100% use of these medications in 2003-2004, when we operated in accordance with the Get With The Guidelines program. Door-to-balloon time in less than 90 minutes became a new phase in our quality improvement process, and we achieved 100% compliance in the last 2 years.
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Comparative Study
Cost-effectiveness of a novel indication of computed tomography of the coronary arteries.
A common strategy for excluding coronary artery disease among patients presenting with low-risk chest pain is observation unit (OU) admission with serial cardiac biomarkers and stress testing for cardiac risk stratification. Patients with positive- or indeterminate-stress tests are often admitted for cardiac catheterization despite a low likelihood of disease. The aim of this study is to estimate the cost-effectiveness of computed tomography of the coronary arteries (CTCA) in the OU for the evaluation of low-risk chest pain patients with indeterminate- or positive-stress test results. ⋯ In this computer-modeled analysis, the addition of CTCA following positive- or indeterminate-stress tests to an OU cardiac risk-stratification pathway for low-risk chest pain patients achieved significant cost savings with a small decrease in life expectancy per patient. Adding CTCA after indeterminate- or positive-stress test results is a cost-effective intervention for further risk-stratifying low-risk chest pain patients in the OU setting before proceeding to traditional coronary angiography.