Study By Cardiologists At Northwestern Memorial Reveals A High Percentage Of Heart Patients Receive Off-Label And Untested Drug-Coated Stents
"We set out to systematically evaluate and compare the frequency of use, the safety and the effectiveness of drug-eluting stents in off-label and untested use versus standard use," said Nirat Beohar, MD, department of cardiology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. "Our results showed that patients are receiving stents that are either off-label or untested nearly half of the time. And, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that these patients fared just as well as those who received the stents under standard use."
DES represents the newest generation of stents in that they are coated with drugs that are meant to prevent the instance of blood clots. As Beohar explains, current FDA indications for DES use are narrowly defined and therefore many heart patients' symptoms will not fit the criteria. However, as the study concludes, use of DES outside of the FDA's approved guidelines has proliferated. This is largely due to the emergence of clinical trials that deem "off-label" and "untested" DES use as being safe and effective.
For the purposes of this study, off-label use meant that patients received the DES although they did not meet approved indications, and untested stents were those where the safety and effectiveness of the DES had not been established for the applied use or treatment.
The study reviewed records for 7,752 percutaneous coronary intervention treated patients from 140 hospitals and medical centers. Roughly 90 percent of those patients received DES. Of that lot, 84 percent received DES and no other devices. It was then determined that roughly 95 percent, or 5,541, of those patients either received standard, off-label and untested use for DES, and it was this subgroup that was examined and followed for the purpose of this study. The research measured in-hospital, 30-day and one-year outcomes in an observational, prospective and multicenter registry.
About Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Northwestern Memorial Hospital is one of the country's premier academic medical centers and the primary teaching hospital for Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Northwestern Memorial and its Prentice Women's Hospital and the Stone Institute of Psychiatry have 744 inpatient beds, 6,625 employees and 1,464 physicians on the medical staff. Northwestern Memorial is recognized for outstanding clinical and surgical advancements in women's health, cardiovascular care, oncology, neurology and neurosurgery, solid organ and bone marrow transplantation and orthopaedics.
Northwestern Memorial has consistently been ranked by healthcare consumers as the "most preferred" hospital in the Chicago region for more than a decade and several of its clinical specialties continue to be listed in U.S. News & World Report's annual issue of "America's Best Hospitals". In addition, the hospital has been named as one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" by Working Mother magazine for seven consecutive years.
In 2005 Northwestern Memorial was the sole recipient of the prestigious National Quality Healthcare Award and is recognized as a national leader for efforts to improve quality and patient safety. And in 2006, the hospital achieved Magnet recognition, the gold standard for nursing excellence.
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
http://www.nmh.org
Studiul de Cardiologists Memorialul de la nord-vest, aratã un procent ridicat de pacienþi inima primi off-etichetã ºi netestat de droguri cu înveliº de Stents - Study By Cardiologists At Northwestern Memorial Reveals A High Percentage Of Heart Patients Receive Off-Label And Untested Drug-Coated Stents - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate