When evidence-based invasive procedures and drug therapy are utilized during MI treatment, the rates of death at 30 days and one year decrease, according to an analysis of a Swedish coronary care registry published in the April 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

To better determine the level of appropriate PCI usage in the U.S., researchers from the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., used the NCDR-Cath/PCI registry to classify procedures as appropriate, inappropriate or uncertain. And while the majority of procedures were deemed appropriate, one in nine elective PCI procedures were classified as inappropriate, according to a study presented at this years annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific sessions in New Orleans.

Adding the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor tirofiban to conventional aspirin and clopidogrel treatment in patients undergoing PCI improved outcomes even in the long-term, emphasizing the importance of platelet inhibitation even in elective PCI procedures, according to the results of an analysis of the TOPSTAR trial published in the April issue of the Journal of Invasive Cardiology.

Many areas in medicine have received a lot of attention regarding their quality of care in terms of provider and facility performance. These include how sites and providers maintain proper hemoglobin A1c levels, as well as how they reduce cath lab complications and heart failure readmissions. However, data regarding the performance of anticoagulation management is scarce.

Moving a catheter laboratory inside an operating theater is no easy matter. While hybrid interventional operating rooms (ORs) carry the promise of increased revenue and patient safety, they also come with a sizable price tag, technical considerations and potential turf battles.

Overall, complication rates related to PCI procedures have been drastically reduced, but bleeding complications remain the last barrier to safety. However, ongoing research has shed light on how some techniques and drugs may or may not be effective in reducing bleeding.

In the current economic climate, providers need to make fiscally conservative choices about their inventory, but healthcare systems that focus on quality, such as North Shore-Long Island Jewish (NSLIJ) Health System in New York, continue to keep patient safety at the forefront of that decision-making process, especially for complicated electrophysiology (EP) procedures. Sponsored by an educational grant from PEAK Surgical.

St. Lukes Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., employs a web-based technology that helps patients understand their risks with an upcoming cath lab procedure. The technology executes the American College of Cardiologys (ACCs) multivariable risk prediction models with patient-specific data so that individualized estimates of outcomes can be generated within the routine flow of clinical care and used to support shared medical decision making.