The use of empiric clinical data in the evaluation of practice guidelines for unstable angina.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the applicability to emergency department (ED) clinical practice of a nationally disseminated practice guideline on the disposition of patients with a diagnosis of unstable angina, and to determine the potential impact of the guideline on hospital admissions and demand for intensive care beds.


METHODS
Application of guideline criteria for ED disposition decisions to a validation sample derived from a prospective clinical trial.


METHODS
Five hospitals, including 2 urban general teaching hospitals, 2 urban tertiary care university hospitals, and 1 suburban university-affiliated community hospital.


METHODS
A consecutive sample of 457 patients who presented with symptoms suggestive of acute cardiac ischemia and who had "unstable angina" or "rule out unstable angina" diagnosed by ED physicians. Greater than 90% of eligible patients were enrolled in the clinical trial; follow-up data sufficient for assignment of a definitive diagnosis were obtained for 99% of subjects.


METHODS
Acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina, based on blind review of initial and follow-up clinical data, including cardiac enzyme levels and electrocardiograms. After completion of the trial, without knowledge of final diagnosis or outcome, the investigators classified patients into risk groups specified by the unstable angina guideline.


RESULTS
Of subjects with an ED diagnosis of unstable angina, only 6% (n=28) met the guideline's criteria corresponding to low risk for adverse events and were therefore suitable for discharge directly to home. Fifty-four percent (n=247) met the intermediate-risk criteria; 40% (n=182) met the high-risk criteria and were identified as requiring admission to an intensive care unit. Actual ED disposition differed from guideline recommendations in 2 major areas: only 4% (1/28) of low-risk patients were discharged to home with outpatient follow-up, and only 40% (72/182) of high-risk patients were admitted to an intensive care unit.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the guideline was intended to reduce hospitalization by identifying a low-risk group, the small size of this group among ED patients suggests that little reduction in hospitalization can be expected. Indeed, the guideline may increase demand for the limited number of intensive care beds to accommodate patients with unstable angina considered high-risk but currently placed elsewhere. These results emphasize the need to use empiric data from target clinical settings to assess the likely actual impact of guidelines on clinical care prior to national dissemination.
Katz
D A
DA
Divisions of Clinical Decision Making, New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
Griffith
J L
JL
Beshansky
J R
JR
Selker
H P
HP
D000789:Angina, Unstable / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000592:standards*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014218:Triage