The role of scientific evidence in shaping recommendations on capacity targets and cardiovascular technology utilization is unclear.
The temporal growth in the use of coronary angiography services and the use of statins after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was determined for all patients older than 65 years admitted to any hospital in Ontario, Canada, between 1992 and 2004. A Bayesian change-point regression model was used to determine the rate of maximum uptake (inflection point) for use of cardiac catheterization service and statins after AMI. The inflection points were compared with the corresponding publication dates of the first positive evidence for outcome efficacy of use of cardiac catheterization service and statins after AMI as obtained from randomized control trials.
The use of post-AMI coronary angiography closely mirrored overall temporal increases in cardiac catheterization capacity between 1992 and 2004 (r = 0.95, P
Notes
Comment In: Arch Intern Med. 2007 Oct 22;167(19):2146-717954816