Magnitude and consequences of undertreatment of high-risk patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndromes: insights from the DESCARTES Registry

OBJECTIVE: To analyse intensity of treatment of high-risk patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTEACS) included in the DESCARTES (Descripción del Estado de los Sindromes Coronarios Agudos en un Registro Temporal Español) registry. PATIENTS AND SETTING: Patients with NSTEACS (n = 1877) admitted to 45 randomly selected Spanish hospitals in April and May 2002 were studied. DESIGN: Patients with ST segment depression and troponin rise were considered high risk (n = 478) and were compared with non-high risk patients (n = 1399). RESULTS: 46.9% of high-risk patients versus 39.5% of non-high-risk patients underwent angiography (p = 0.005), 23.2% versus 18.8% (p = 0.038) underwent percutaneous revascularisation, and 24.9% versus 7.4% (p < 0.001) were given glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor. In-hospital and six-month mortality were 7.5% versus 1.1% and 17% versus 4.6% (p < 0.001), respectively. A treatment score (> or = 4, 2-3 and < 2) was defined according to the number of class I interventions recommended in clinical guidelines: aspirin, clopidogrel, beta blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, statins and revascularisation. Independent predictors of six-month mortality were age (odds ratio (OR) 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04 to 1.10, p < 0.001), diabetes (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.22, p = 0.014), previous cardiovascular disease (OR 4.17, 95% CI 1.63 to 10.68, p = 0.003), high risk (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.30 to 3.71, p = 0.003) and treatment score < 2 versus > or = 4 (OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.27 to 6.52, p = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: Class I recommended treatments were underused in high-risk patients in the DESCARTES registry. This undertreatment was an independent predictor of death of patients with an acute coronary syndrome.