Abstract: The aims of this study were to investigate trends in the incidence of diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF), and to identify factors associated with the prescription of antithrombotics (ATs) and to identify the persistence of patients with oral anticoagulant (OAC) treatment in primary care. Data were obtained from 400 Italian primary care physicians providing information to the Health Search/Thales Database from 2001 to 2004. The age-standardised incidence of AF was: 3.9-3.0 cases, and 3.6-3.0 cases per 1,000 person-years in males and females, respectively. During the study period, 2,016 (37.2%) patients had no prescription, 1,663 (30.7%) were prescribed an antiplatelet (AP) agent, 1,440 (26.6%) were prescribed an OAC and 301 (5.5%) had both prescriptions. The date of diagnosis (p = 0.0001) affected the likelihood of receiving an OAC. AP, but not OAC, use significantly increased with a worsening stroke risk profile using the CHADS2 risk score. Older age increased the probability (p < 0.0001) of receiving an AP, but not an OAC. Approximately 42% and 24% of patients persisted with OAC treatment at one and two years, respectively, the remainder interrupted or discontinued their treatment. Underuse and discontinuation of OAC treatment is common in incident AF patients. Risk stratification only partially influences AT management.
Abstract: Blood pressure (BP) control remains unsatisfactory worldwide. Better knowledge of BP management in clinical practice is needed to develop more effective improving strategies. Using a large Italian primary care database, we selected the subjects diagnosed with hypertension, and extracted the diagnosis of myocardial infarction, angina pectoris/coronary disease, stroke/transitory ischemic attack (TIA), heart failure, atrial fibrillation, peripheral arterial disease, diabetes mellitus, the serum total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine, BP, electrocardiogram, weight, height and the prescription of cardiovascular (CV) drugs. Hypertension was recorded in 119.065 individuals (prevalence 19.3%), 19.134 (16%) had no ambulatory visit and 33.183 (27.8%) had no BP value recorded. Overall, 14.594 (21.9%) had at least one recorded diagnosis showing high CV risk. BP was controlled (mean of BP values <140/90 mm Hg) in 28.918 patients (16.690 women, 12 189 men and 40 gender not recorded), that is, 43.23% of the subjects with recorded BP. Among the non-controlled patients, 21.866 (57.8%) were non-high risk grade 1 (mean BP 142.5/84.5 mm Hg; s.d. 13.1/8.2) and 7.123 (18.8%) high-risk grade 1 hypertensives (mean BP 150/83 mm Hg; s.d. 6.2/7.2). Less than three drugs were prescribed in 29.919 (79.1%) of non-controlled patients. Low attendance rate, BP under-recording and suboptimal use of politherapy are major obstacles to hypertension control. Most uncontrolled individuals are low-CV risk, grade 1 hypertensive patients, for whom the personal benefit of adding another drug is modest. Aiming at the recommended BP target in uncontrolled grade 2-3 hypertensive/high-CV risk patients would probably require two additional drugs.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with poor renal and cardiovascular (CV) outcome, and early identification largely depends on the general practitioners' (GPs) awareness of it. Only a few studies have evaluated the prevalence of CKD in type 2 diabetes in primary care, and no studies are available on hypertensive diabetics. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of CKD and its association with CV morbidity in such a population. METHODS: On the basis of an Italian national project involving GPs and nephrologists, we retrieved demographic, laboratory and clinical data regarding 7582 hypertensive type 2 diabetics (3564 men; age 25-89 years) who were selected using the diagnostic code Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) for diabetes and hypertension. Blood pressure (BP) values, serum creatinine, ECG-diagnosed left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and the occurrence of previous major CV events were obtained for each patient from the GPs' Health Search Database. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated according to the four-variable MDRD equation. CKD was defined as an estimated GFR < 60 mL/min/ 1.73 m2. RESULTS: CKD prevalence was 26%, although renal disease was diagnosed by GPs in only 5.4% of cases. The prevalence of both LVH and major CV events was 8%. Adequate BP control was only achieved in 10.4% of patients. Patients whose GFR was <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 were older, prevalently female, had increased pulse pressure and higher prevalence of dyslipidaemia. Moreover, the prevalence of both LVH and major CV events was higher in patients with CKD as compared to patients with normal GFR. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that patients with CKD had a higher risk of LVH and/or CV events adjusted for eight covariates, and this risk increased by 23% with each 21 mL/min/1.73 m2 decrease in GFR. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that CKD is highly prevalent in hypertensive type 2 diabetic patients, where it is a strong predictor of CV adverse outcome. However, awareness of CKD by GPs is low. Equations for calculating estimated GFR should be included in the GPs' database in order to detect the presence of CKD and to improve CV outcome of such a high-risk population.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Pharmacological preventive therapy after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is strictly recommended because of its great efficacy. Little is known about long-term utilization of drugs related to cardiovascular secondary prevention in everyday practice. DESIGN: A population-based cohort study on the basis of an Italian general practice database. METHODS: Searching a large primary-care Italian database (Health Search), we selected five cohorts of patients with first occurrence of AMI from 2001 to 2005, respectively, and analyzed prescriptions of antithrombotic agents, beta-blockers, statins and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) from 2001 to 2006 (follow-up ranging from 1 to 5 years). RESULTS: We identified 4764 patients (mean age 67; 35% female) discharged from hospital after first-ever AMI. The prescription rate in the first year after AMI was suboptimal (beta-blockers 35.1%, aspirin or warfarin 75.0%, ACE-inhibitors or ARBs 61.6%, statins 52.8%) but showed a continuous improvement from 2001 to 2005. The prescription rate decreased slightly during the follow-up, but showed a complex pattern with a variable but significant number of patients discontinuing or resuming the therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The prescription of recommended drugs after AMI has increased from 2001 to 2006 in Italy, but the prescription rate remains largely unsatisfactory. Therapeutic continuity is also suboptimal.
Abstract: ICD implantation is today a well-recognized therapy to prevent sudden cardiac death. The available implantable devices at present need the use of permanent endocavitary leads which may cause, in some instances, serious troubles to the patients (lead dislodgement, ventricular perforation, lead infections, etc.). A new implantable defibrillator provided by only a subcutaneous lead is at present under evaluation. Its potential indications, usefulness benefits, and problems represent an interesting field of investigation and discussion. This paper describes the conclusions recently reached by a panel of experts, with regard to the potential role of an implantable subcutaneous defibrillator in the prevention of sudden cardiac death.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Nonadherence to antihypertensive treatment is a common problem in cardiovascular prevention and may influence prognosis. We explored predictors of adherence to antihypertensive treatment and the association of adherence with acute cardiovascular events. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using data obtained from 400 Italian primary care physicians providing information to the Health Search/Thales Database, we selected 18,806 newly diagnosed hypertensive patients >or=35 years of age during the years 2000 to 2001. Subjects included were newly treated for hypertension and initially free of cardiovascular diseases. Patient adherence was subdivided a priori into 3 categories-high (proportion of days covered, >or=80%), intermediate (proportion of days covered, 40% to 79%), and low (proportion of days covered, <or=40%)-and compared with the long-term occurrence of acute cardiovascular events through the use of multivariable models adjusted for demographic factors, comorbidities, and concomitant drug use. At baseline (ie, 6 months after index diagnosis), 8.1%, 40.5%, and 51.4% of patients were classified as having high, intermediate, and low adherence levels, respectively. Multiple drug treatment (odds ratio, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.43 to 1.83), dyslipidemia (odds ratio, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.24 to 1.87), diabetes mellitus (odds ratio, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.71), obesity (odds ratio, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.26 to 1.78), and antihypertensive combination therapy (odds ratio, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.45) were significantly (P<0.001) associated with high adherence to antihypertensive treatment. Compared with their low-adherence counterparts, only high adherers reported a significantly decreased risk of acute cardiovascular events (hazard ratio, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.40 to 0.96; P=0.032). CONCLUSIONS: The long-term reduction of acute cardiovascular events associated with high adherence to antihypertensive treatment underscores its importance in assessments of the beneficial effects of evidence-based therapies in the population. An effort focused on early antihypertensive treatment initiation and adherence is likely to provide major benefits.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of lifestyle counselling for low-moderate cardiovascular (CV) risk subjects in primary care. METHODS: Design: Prospective comparison of baseline vs post-intervention, and comparison of enrolled patients vs control subjects extracted from a large primary care database. SETTING: 94 general practices in Italy. PARTICIPANTS: All the 20-70-year-old hypercholesterolaemic subjects who did not qualify for statin treatment according to the guidelines and who were seen on 12 predetermined working days; 713 patients; 94 general practitioners. INTERVENTION: Short (5-10 min) educational intervention (qualitative dietary advice, encouraging walking or other aerobic physical activities); handing out simple dietetic advice at physician discretion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Total cholesterol level and global CV risk calculated according to the Framingham equation. RESULTS: Total cholesterol and global CV risk (10 years) decreased by 0.31 mmol/l (p < 0.0001, 95% CI 0.23-0.40) and 1.35% (p < 0.01, 95% CI -1.73 to -0.97), respectively, after a 54-month follow-up. Enrolled patients showed a greater total cholesterol decrease than control patients: 2.24% (p < 0.05, 95% CI 0.58-3.91%). CONCLUSIONS: A simple, office-based, long-term, lifestyle counselling programme produces a small, but clinically significant reduction of total cholesterol and of global CV risk. This result should encourage GPs to systematically offer simple, unstructured lifestyle counselling to all their patients.
Abstract: To estimate the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Italy and to investigate patient-related variables associated with the use of different antihyperglycemic therapies. This study was conducted between the years 2000-2003 from a source population comprising a cumulative sample of 394,719 patients from 320 General Practitioners across Italy, who provide information to the Health Search/Thales Database (HSD). A total sample of 23,729 of patients with type 2 diabetes age 15 years or older was selected from the source population. During the study years, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes increased from 4.7 to 6.0%. A significant increase in the use of antihyperglycemic therapy was also observed between 2000 and 2003. In particular, the use of biguanides increased. During the same period, the use of sulfonylurea monotherapy, oral combination therapy and insulin with oral combination therapy decreased. The results from the multivariate analysis revealed that healthier patients were more likely to be prescribed biguanide and sulfonylurea monotherapy, whereas patients with more diabetes complications and poorer glycemic control were more likely to be prescribed oral combination therapy or insulin (monotherapy or combination therapy). In conclusion, the study results appear to suggest that the prescribing patterns of Italian GPs and the predictors of different antihyperglycemic drug use are consistent with recent scientific evidence.
Abstract: The Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial-Lipid-Lowering Arm (ASCOT-LLA) trial demonstrated the benefits of combined antihypertensive/lipid-lowering treatment over antihypertensive treatment alone in hypertensive patients with > or =3 additional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. We assessed the prevalence and treatment of patients with hypertension and > or =3 additional CV risk factors in The Netherlands and Italy in a retrospective cohort study using the Integrated Primary Care Information (IPCI) database in The Netherlands and the Health Search/Thales Database (HSD) in Italy. Patients aged > or =16 years, with 1 year of valid database history, diagnosed and/or treated for hypertension (>140/90 mmHg) during 2000-2002 were included in the study. The IPCI and HSD populations consisted of approximately 175000 and approximately 325000 patients, respectively. The prevalence of hypertension increased from 20.3 to 22.3% in the IPCI, and from 19.0 to 21.8% in the HSD during 2000-2002. The prevalence of > or =3 concomitant risk factors among hypertensive patients increased from 31.2 and 31.1% in 2000 to 34.2 and 39.3% in 2002 in the IPCI and HSD, respectively. From 2000 to 2002, among hypertensive patients with > or =3 CV risk factors and no prior symptomatic CV disease (CVD) approximately 54-57% in the IPCI and 80-83% in the HSD received antihypertensive treatment. In these patients, the use of combined antihypertensive and lipid-lowering treatment increased from 14.2 to 17.6% in the IPCI and from 15.5 to 17.4% in the HSD from 2000 to 2002. This study shows that primary prevention of CVD in hypertensive patients in The Netherlands and Italy could be improved.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a major cause of death in western countries, with coronary heart disease (CHD) being the basis of over 70% of SCD. Incidence in high-CHD risk countries has already been studied, but this information is not available for Mediterranean low-CHD risk countries. Incidence is of paramount importance when cost-effectiveness rate of actions against SCD must be estimated. METHODS: We estimated the incidence of SCD and its potential risk associated with clinical variables, by a means of a case-control study in a general practice setting. The enrolled general practitioners (GPs) provided data about the total number of their patients, and identified all their patients who suffered an out-of-hospital SCD during the previous 365 days. Two age-matched and gender-matched controls visiting GPs office after the SCD selection were also selected. We used a structured questionnaire to obtain information about potential risk factors for SCD. Covariates that were univariately associated with SCD were included in the multivariate regression analyses. RESULTS: In a population of 297 340 (age greater than 14 years), a total of 230 cases were identified (0.77 per 1000 individuals), mostly occurring at home and among persons with known high cardiovascular risk. In the multivariate analysis only CHD (OR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.09-2.58), arrhythmia (OR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.3-3.9), obesity (OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.5-3.6), alcohol abuse (OR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.2-2.7), and family history of CHD (OR 3.1; 95% CI: 1.8-5.3) resulted in a significant association with SCD. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of SCD in Italy is lower than that reported in high-CHD risk population, most of the cases occurring at home and among persons with known high cardiovascular risk. Implementing recommendations for these patients seems to be the most effective strategy to reduce the incidence of SCD.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Despite the high cardiovascular risk, evidence of efficacy of preventive strategies in individuals with diabetes is scant. In particular, recommendations on the use of aspirin in patients with diabetes mostly reflect an extrapolation from data deriving from other high risk populations. Furthermore, the putative additive effects of aspirin and statins in diabetes remain to be investigated. This aspect is of particular interest in the light of the existing debate regarding the need of multiple interventions to reduce total cardiovascular risk, which has also led to the proposal of a polypill. Aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of aspirin in the primary prevention of major cardiovascular events in diabetic patients candidate for treatment with statins. These preventive strategies will be evaluated on the top of the other strategies aimed at optimizing the care of diabetic patients in terms of metabolic control and control of the other cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS/DESIGN: The ACCEPT-D is an open-label trial assessing whether 100 mg/daily of aspirin prevent cardiovascular events in patients without clinically manifest vascular disease and treated with simvastatin (starting dose 20 mg/die). Eligible patients will be randomly assigned to receive aspirin + simvastatin or simvastatin alone. Eligibility criteria: male and female individuals aged >=50 years with diagnosis of type 1 or type 2 diabetes, already on treatment with statins or candidate to start the treatment (LDL-cholesterol >=100 mg/dL persisting after 3 months of dietary advise). The primary combined end-point will include cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and hospital admission for cardiovascular causes (acute coronary syndrome, transient ischemic attack, not planned revascularization procedures, peripheral vascular disease). A total of 515 first events are needed to detect a reduction in the risk of major cardiovascular events of 25% (alpha = 0.05; 1-beta = 0.90). Overall, 5170 patients will be enrolled. The study will be conducted by diabetes specialists and general practitioners. DISCUSSION: The study will provide important information regarding the preventive role of aspirin in diabetes when used on the top of the other strategies aimed to control cardiovascular risk factors. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN48110081.
Abstract: PURPOSE: To verify General Practitioners (GPs) compliance to the recommended laboratory monitoring for statin users. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted collecting data from the database of Italian College of General Practitioners, named Health Search; all the participant physicians used an automatic pop-up which reminds them to periodically check liver enzyme levels in statin-users. We examined the patients who received their first statin prescription from 29 November 1999 to 28 November, 2002. CPK, ASL, AST, and creatinine values recorded before and after the first prescription were evaluated. The minimum and maximum observation time before and after prescription were 6 and 42 months, respectively. The prevalence of laboratory monitoring prescribed by GPs was calculated at baseline and during follow-up for all patients and for the subgroup of high-risk patients. RESULTS: We identified 14 120 first-ever statin users (male 47.4%). CPK, AST, ALT and creatinine tests were prescribed at least once at baseline in 8.5%, 53.9%, 50.9%, and 64.0% of patients, respectively; during the follow-up 37.8%, 64.4%, 60.3%, and 61.5% of patient received the same tests prescriptions, respectively. No difference between high-risk and non-high-risk patients was observed. During the follow-up enzyme levels greater than three times the upper normal limit were recorded in 0.4%, 0.1%, 0.1%, and 0.3% of subjects for CPK, AST, ALT and creatinine, respectively. CONCLUSION: Adherence to the recommended laboratory monitoring for statin users is very low among Italian GPs, even for high-risk patients. Automatic reminders which pop-up whenever statins are prescribed are ineffective.
Abstract: Prognostic stratification is relevant in clinical decision making in heart failure (HF). Predictors identified during hospitalization or in clinical trials may be unrepresentative of HF in the community. The aim of this study was to derive and validate, in different clinical settings, a risk stratification model for the prediction of stable HF outcomes. The study included 807 patients, 350 enrolled at discharge from the hospital (44%), 309 in the outpatient clinic (38%), and 148 in the home-care setting (18%). There were 292 patients in the derivation cohort and 515 in the validation cohort. A multivariate logistic analysis was performed to obtain the CardioVascular Medicine Heart Failure (CVM-HF) index. One-year mortality was 20.8% in the derivation cohort and 20.7% in the validation cohort. The CVM-HF index included cardiac conditions and co-morbidities and stratified the 1-year mortality risk as low (death rate 4%), average (32%), high (63%), and very high (96%). The area under the curve of the receiver-operating characteristic curve was 0.844 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.779 to 0.89) for the derivation cohort and 0.812 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.86) for the validation cohort. Model performance was equally good in the 3 different HF settings. In a subgroup of 409 patients, the CVM-HF index (area under the curve 0.821, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.89) outperformed the most-used prognostic models (the Charlson index and the Heart Failure Risk Scoring System). In conclusion, the CVM-HF index, a novel prognostic model that is easy to derive and applicable to unselected patients, may represent a valuable tool for the prognostication of stable HF outcomes.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: To evaluate 10-year cardiovascular risk, the risk chart and the individual risk score from the CUORE Project were recently introduced in Italy. These tools differ as for age range and some risk factors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the difference between the global absolute risk assessed by the risk chart and the individual risk score using the data collected through the Osservatorio Epidemiologico Cardiovascolare (OEC). METHODS: From the Osservatorio Epidemiologico Cardiovascolare sample, 6508 people aged 40-69 years without clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis were selected. Cardiovascular risk was assessed using risk chart and individual risk score and the 10-year risk was categorized in six classes (< 5%, 5-9%, 10-14%, 15-19%, 20-29%, > or = 30%). As coefficient of agreement between risk chart and individual risk score, Cohen kappa statistic was computed using the Cicchetti-Allison weights (k(w)). RESULTS: From contingency tables of the two methods distribution, k(w) was 0.71 (p < 0.0001 and 95% confidence interval 0.70-0.72). Using the 20% risk threshold reported in Nota 13 of Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco and excluding persons who were treated for hyperlipemia refunded regardless of their chart or individual score estimation of cardiovascular risk, the differences between the two tools classification resulted in the 2.6% of the sample (1.4% were assessed as at non-high risk [< 20%] using the risk chart and at high risk using the individual risk score, and the opposite for 1.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Classification difference between risk charts and the individual risk score is quite small. Updating of predictive functions of two tools could improve their concordance also for individual evaluation, including older people and better reflecting current Italian lifestyle.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To collect information on the major risk factors and secondary prevention among patients with myocardial infarction in Italy. METHODS: Data were obtained from the database of the Italian College of General Practitioners; 3588 patients (mean age 68.7 +/- 11.3 years; 2698 men, 888 women; two unrecorded gender), with an average time from event of 6 +/- 5.7 years, were identified. RESULTS: Among the major risk factors, data entry ranged from 50.3% for physical activity to 74.9% for blood pressure. Inadequate blood pressure control was present in 49.2% and elevated plasma cholesterol levels (> 5.2 mmol/l) in 57.3%; among the latter group, 65% were on lipid-lowering therapy. Only 47.2% of the treated patients achieved a total cholesterol level of < 5.2 mmol/l. Antiplatelet or anticoagulant drugs, beta-blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors were prescribed to 43%, 10.3%, and 57.9% of patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The preventive attitude of Italian general practitioners is similar to that reported in other European countries with two noticeable exceptions: under-prescription of beta-blockers and of antiplatelet drugs. Clearly, secondary prevention requires major improvement.
Abstract: BACKGROUND; Heart failure (HF) represents an important health issue in western countries, especially for the elderly, frail population. A number of HF patients must usually be assisted at home. No information is available about the usual care of HF patients in Italy. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of HF patients receiving homecare in the Italian general practice. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to 320 general practitioners (GPs) involved in the Health Search project. Among these, 148 (46.2%) answered and 376 home-ridden HF patients (60.3% women, median age 85 years) were identified. RESULTS: 257 (57%) patients were in NYHA class III or IV. Multiple relevant concomitant diseases occurred in 326 (86.7%) subjects. Only 140 (37.2%) patients were able to take their pills without any help; caregivers, mainly family members, were required 24 hours a day in 78.7% of cases. The length of homecare was > 1 year in 84.5% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: According to our data, thousands of HF patients are usually assisted at home for long periods in Italy. This is a very old group of subjects with heavy co-morbidity and a high need for continuous, prolonged assistance. Studies specifically aimed at the care of HF patients are needed.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Stroke represents worldwide the second and seventh cause of death and invalidity, respectively. Patients with ischaemic stroke or transitory ischaemic attack (TIA) are at high risk of recurrence, therefore requiring intensive treatment. Hypercholesterolaemia is a modifiable risk factor for stroke. The general practitioners attitude towards detection and treatment of dyslipidaemia among patients with stroke or TIA in Italy is unknown; we therefore aimed to address this issue taking advantage of the database of The Italian College of General Practitioners. METHODS: Prevalence of the monitored factors (lipid levels, statin prescription, and lipid level control with hypolipidaemic agents prescription) were analysed on a patient population of 465 061. RESULTS: A total of 2555 (49% women and 51% men) patients with a diagnosis of stroke and 2755 patients (52% women and 48% men) with a diagnosis of TIA were included in the study. Total plasma cholesterol (TC) was reported in more than 60% of the patients and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) in less than half. Total plasma cholesterol and LDLc were controlled in 70.3 and 72.8% of the patients, respectively. The percentage of controlled patients decreased to 64% when both LDLc and TC were considered. Statins and fibrates were prescribed in a small proportion of patients (16.9 and 3.5%, respectively). An acceptable control of blood lipids was achieved in a majority of those patients (60.2%). However a relatively large number of patients (646) with high plasma lipids remained untreated. CONCLUSIONS: Monitoring and intervention strategies on plasma lipid levels in patients with a diagnosis of stroke or TIA need to be improved.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To describe patterns of persistence and related primary care costs associated with first antihypertensive treatment. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective cohort study during 2000-2001, using information from 320 Italian general practitioners. PARTICIPANTS: We studied 13 303 patients with newly diagnosed hypertension, who received a first single antihypertensive prescription within 3 months after diagnosis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Persistence with first-line single treatment, categorized as follows: continuers: patients continuing the first-line medication for at least 1 year; combiners: patients receiving an additional antihypertensive drug and continuing the initial medication; switchers: patients changing from the first-line to another class of antihypertensive drug and discontinuing the initial treatment; discontinuers: patients stopping the first-line treatment without having another prescription until the end of the follow-up. Primary care costs were expressed as the cost of hypertension management per person-year of follow-up. RESULTS: In the study cohort, 19.8% were continuers, 22.1% were combiners, 15.4% were switchers, and 42.6% were discontinuers. Continuation was greatest with angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocking agents (25.2%), calcium channel blockers (23.9%) and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (23.3%). Severe hypertension [hazards ratio 1.30; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18 to 1.43] and severe health status (hazards ratio 1.22; 95% CI 1.15 to 1.30) increased the risk of discontinuation. The likelihood of needing an additional antihypertensive drug was associated with mild-to-severe baseline blood pressure, diabetes (hazards ratio 1.20; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.36), and familial history of cardiovascular disease (hazards ratio 1.24; 95% CI 1.10 to 1.39). Discontinuers accounted for 22.4% of the total primary care cost. Initial treatment with angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocking agents and beta-blockers resulted in incremental primary care costs of 145.2 and 144.2, respectively, compared with diuretics. Combiners and switchers increased the primary care cost by 140.1 and 11.7, compared with continuers. CONCLUSION: Persistence with first-line single antihypertensive drugs is extremely low during the first year of treatment. Potential cost saving should be possible by reducing the high frequency of discontinuation. Diuretics represent the least expensive therapeutic option, although further investigations in the long-term are needed to analyse the effects of persistence on therapeutic effectiveness and related costs.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of angina pectoris (AP) using self-reported information and primary care databases. METHODS: A comparison between the prevalence of AP in 730,586 subjects from the Health Search Database (HSD) and 119,799 individuals from a Health Interview Survey (HIS) was performed. The age-specific prevalence was calculated by dividing the detected cases by the total number of individuals in each age group. The age-standardized prevalence was estimated by direct standardization performed using the Italian standard population. RESULTS: The HSD reported a higher crude prevalence of AP than the HIS, both in males (1374/100,000 vs 1006/100,000) and females (1449/100,000 vs 1007/100,000). In the HSD the age-specific prevalence was lower for patients aged <65 years, whilst higher estimates were reported for older patients. Age standardization slightly reduced the prevalence in both samples, although the HSD always reported higher estimates. CONCLUSIONS: Prescription data from general practice databases may be a valid, simple, and cost-effective method to evaluate and serially monitor the prevalence of AP.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: To plan preventive intervention after myocardial infarction (MI) the disease prevalence and the age and time from acute event of the index population should be known. METHODS: We identified all the living patients with MI coded diagnosis in the database of the Italian College of General Practitioners (Health Search Database-HSD). The years from the first acute MI were also determined. RESULTS: 3588 subjects with MI diagnosis were identified (2698 males and 888 females, for 2 gender not recorded). Based on the distribution of our population and on that reported by the Italian Institute of Statistics, stratified by gender and age (segments of 10 years), the estimated number of subjects with MI in Italy (age-standardized rates x 10000) was 309284 for men and 102343 for women. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of MI diagnosis in the HSD is very close to that obtained by other epidemiological methods. Querying the database can provide a simple and inexpensive way to estimate and monitor the prevalence of MI in Italy.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Although several studies describing the diagnostic and therapeutic management of patients with myocardial infarction (MI) by general practitioners have recently been published, little information exists about patients with angina without MI. AIM: To describe the management of patients with angina without known MI in general practice. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Italian general practitioners providing data to the Health Search Database. METHOD: Prevalent cases of angina, using the prescription of nitrates as a 'proxy' for disease status, in patients without known MI were selected from the Health Search Database. Data on patient demographics, clinical information, established therapies and cardiology visits were collected. A binomial logistic regression analysis was performed to test which variable made prescription more or less likely. RESULTS: There were 10 455 patients with angina. Blood pressure readings were available for 73.8% of patients; in this group 58.9% had inadequate (> or = 140/90 mmHg) blood pressure control. Total cholesterol was recorded in 61.6% of cases (mean value = 5.5 mmol/L). Antiplatelet or oral anticoagulant agents were used by 67.8% of the patients, while 24.1% of patients received lipid-lowering agents, 61% received ACE-inhibitors or angiotensin-II receptor antagonists, and 25.2% received beta-blockers. CONCLUSIONS: In patients treated with nitrates the monitoring of modifiable risk factors and the use of preventive drugs is lower than expected. New strategies aimed at improving secondary cardiovascular prevention among these easily identifiable high-risk subjects are needed.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Oral anticoagulants (OAs) are recommended for many clinical problems and their use requires organised and knowledgeable medical support. Up to our knowledge, there is no data about both the reasons of treatment among OAs' users and the number of patients prescribed with OAs in Italy. OBJECTIVES: To describe the OA use, and the reasons of prescribing among Italian General Practitioners. METHODS: We used the Health Search Database owned by the Italian College of General Practitioners to identify the clinical records of patients > or =20 years who had at least one prescription of OAs during the year 2002. RESULTS: Among a study population of 448,495 patients, 3,649 subjects (0.81%) had received at least one OAs prescription. Applying such a proportion to the overall Italian population, on the basis of data from Italian Office for National Statistics (ISTAT), we estimated that 376,882 patients would have used OAs during the year 2002 in Italy. The most frequent clinical problem related to the use of OAs was atrial fibrillation (45.6%), followed by cardiac valve disease (14.6%), deep vein thrombosis (12.2%) and peripheral artery embolism (7.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 370,000 patients are prescribed with OAs in Italy and for more than 50% of them life-long therapy is recommended. Atrial fibrillation is the most frequent reason for prescription.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The aim of our work was to evaluate, in a general practice setting, the attitude of general practitioners in determining the individual coronary risk. METHODS: The coronary risk was determined among patients aged 30 to 74 years using the following parameters: gender, age, smoking habits, diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, systolic blood pressure, and total cholesterol. We evaluated the records of 446,331 subjects collected by 481 general practitioners working throughout Italy. RESULTS: Except for age, gender and diabetes mellitus, risk factors were largely under-recorded: blood pressure in 37.0% of the total patients, total cholesterol in 34.3%, smoking habits in 21.9%. Recording was substantially low even in patients who were prescribed with antihypertensive drugs and/or lipid-lowering drugs: blood pressure in 80.6% of the patients, total cholesterol in 69.1%, smoking habits in 46.1%. Cardiovascular risk factors were more frequently recorded as age increased and slightly more among women as compared to men. Obviously, it is possible that risk factors had been assessed but not recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular risk factors are substantially under-recorded among Italian general practitioners thus impairing adequate preventive treatment. A systematic, well programmed approach may theoretically lead to evaluate the majority of the target population within a few years.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Hypertension control and antiplatelet or oral anticoagulant drugs are the basis for secondary prevention of cerebrovascular events. Family physicians (FPs) are usually involved in both aspects of prevention, but no research has been carried out in Italy to evaluate the behavior of FPs in this field of prevention. METHODS: Data concerning 318 Italian FPs and 465,061 patients were extracted from the Health Search Database. Patients with coded diagnoses of stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) were selected. Demographic records and information regarding presence of concurrent disease and medical records were also obtained. Logistic regression analyses were carried out to assess whether conditions exist that make appropriate control of blood pressure (BP) and prescription of antiplatelet or anticoagulant drugs more likely. RESULTS: We selected 2555 patients with diagnosis of stroke and 2755 with TIA. Among all of the subjects, 32.6% had no BP recorded. Among the remaining subjects, 58.7% reported uncontrolled BP. Isolated systolic hypertension has been shown in 68.8% of patients with uncontrolled BP. Antiplatelet and anticoagulant drugs were prescribed in 72% of these cases. Factors that made the prescription significantly more unlikely were diagnosis of TIA (odds ratio [OR], 0.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41 to 0.54), total invalidity (OR, 0.66; 95% CI 0.56 to 0.78), and time from event of 5 years or more (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.94). CONCLUSIONS: Italian FPs could improve secondary prevention of cerebrovascular accidents. The primary target of intervention should be the control of systolic BP, and the group of patients with unacceptably high BP should be given priority. All of these patients should have been prescribed antiplatelet drugs or anticoagulant agents, except in cases of extremely short life expectancy or substantial contraindications.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether an electronic reminder integrated into a routine computer system increases the use of antiplatelet drugs for diabetic patients among Italian general practitioners (GPs). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was carried out among 300 GPs and their patients selected from the Health Search Database. Among these, 150 GPs (intervention group) received instructions to activate an electronic reminder plus a letter summarizing the beneficial effects of antiplatelet drugs in diabetic patients with at least one additional cardiovascular risk factor ("high risk"), whereas the other 150 GPs (control group) received only the letter. The electronic reminder, integrated into a standard software system for the management of the daily clinical practice, was displayed when every participating GP opened the medical record of diabetic patients aged > or =30 years. Only high-risk diabetic patients were included in the analysis. Patients were considered under antiplatelet treatment if they received two or more prescriptions at baseline and during the follow-up. RESULTS: We selected 15,343 high-risk diabetic patients, 7,313 belonging to GPs of the control group and 8,030 belonging to GPs of the intervention group. Overall, 1,672 patients (22.9%) of the control group and 1,886 (23.5%) patients of the intervention group received antiplatelet drugs at baseline (P = N.S.). At the end of the follow-up, the number of treated patients was significantly increased in the intervention group (odds ratio 1.99, 95% CI 1.79-2.22) versus the control group. The effect of the electronic reminder was more relevant among those patients with one or more cardiovascular risk factors but without previous cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), compared with those with CVDs. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide evidence for the effect of an electronic reminder in affecting the prescriptive behavior of GPs.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major risk factor in the development of ischaemic stroke. The rate of embolic events can be reduced significantly by appropriate therapy. Epidemiological data and information about the attitude of physicians towards prophylaxis of thromboembolism are crucial to determine future strategies to decrease strokes in patients with AF. Unfortunately, these data are unknown in Italy. OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to study the prevalence of diagnosed AF in northern Italy, to estimate the percentage of high, moderate and low risk patients and to investigate the pattern of embolic prophylaxis among GPs. METHODS: Fifty-one GPs reviewed all the clinical records of subjects aged >/=40 years and identified those patients with chronic or paroxysmal AF. RESULTS: Among 41 050 patients, 719 [1.75%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.59-1.91] had AF (70% chronic, 30% paroxysmal). Only 4% were at low risk for ischaemic stroke, whereas 32% were at moderate and 64% at high risk. Contraindications to antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy were present in 11% of AF patients. Antithrombotic prophylaxis was underused among the 51 GPs. CONCLUSIONS: Detection of AF could be 30-40% lower than real prevalence and, therefore, adequate evaluation and treatment aimed at avoiding ischaemic stroke could be denied to a great number of Italian patients. AF detection and prophylaxis of thromboembolic risk can be improved among GPs in northern Italy.
