Patterns of guideline adherence and care delivery for patients with unstable angina and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (from the CRUSADE Quality Improvement Initiative)

Abstract

The Can Rapid Risk Stratification of Unstable Angina Patients Suppress Adverse Outcomes with Early Implementation of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guidelines (CRUSADE) initiative is a prospective, rapid-cycle quality-improvement initiative that focuses on improving both the diagnostic evaluation of patients with non-ST-segment elevation (NSTE) acute coronary syndromes (ACS; defined as ischemic ST-segment changes and/or positive cardiac markers) and the use of treatments recommended by the American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for management of NSTE ACS. The ultimate goal of the CRUSADE initiative is to improve the quality of care among high-risk patients with NSTE ACS. At the same time, the CRUSADE initiative provides the unique opportunity to evaluate the pattern of NSTE ACS management in a large-scale, routine practice setting in the United States. Cumulatively, the CRUSADE initiative has collected data from >165,000 patients with NSTE ACS admitted at >400 US hospitals since 2001. This article reviews the major results from the CRUSADE initiative on risk stratification, gaps in guidelines adherence, paradoxical care, and the association of guideline adherence with outcomes.