Differences in statin usage and target-goal achievement between departments at the same hospital.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To compare use of statins and target-goal achievement in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), with or without stable coronary artery disease (CAD), between cardiology and endocrinology departments at a tertiary hospital. METHODS: A total of 966 patients with T2DM were enrolled, including 553 with stable CAD, from the departments of endocrinology and cardiology. Baseline characteristics, prescription of statins, and target-goal achievement of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) during a 6-month follow-up period were analyzed. RESULTS: There was lower ratio of statin use in patients with T2DM, with or without CAD, in the department of endocrinology than in the department of cardiology (all P0.05), with no apparent improvement compared to baseline. CONCLUSIONS: There was differential and sub-optimal use of statins as well as low target-goal achievement among patients with T2DM, with or without CAD, in the departments of cardiology and endocrinology at the same tertiary hospital, with a lower rate of statin prescription and target-goal achievement of LDL-C in the department of endocrinology.