Background: We evaluated correlates of prolonged use of evidence-based therapies in patients discharged after non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE ACS).
Methods: 598 cardiologists enrolled 2443 patients at outpatient clinics 2-12 months after discharge for NSTE ACS. The use of cardiac medications for secondary prevention (antiplatelets, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzymes, and statins) was evaluated.
Results: A total of 2386 (97.7%) patients were on either antiplatelet monotherapy (n=623, 26.1%) or combination therapy (n=1763, 73.9%) at follow-up. Combination antiplatelet therapy declined by 23 percentage points (82.3% to 59.4%) 9-12 months after discharge, whereas use of other cardiac medications remained constant or increased. After multivariable analysis, the strongest predictors of combination antiplatelet therapy were PCI with a stent (odds ratio [OR] 3.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.12-6.67), drug-eluting stents (OR 3.25, 95% CI 1.73-6.08), late PCI (OR 3.21, 95% CI 2.12-4.87) and statins at discharge (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.40-2.80). Among the independent predictors of beta-blocker and statin use were extent of coronary artery disease and cardiac medications prescribed at discharge.
Conclusions: After NSTE ACS, implementation of recommendations on long-term use of evidence-based therapies depends largely on in-hospital management. A variety of clinical characteristics are also predictive of long-term use.