[Impact of biomedical publications on the incorporation of new therapeutic attitudes in cardiovascular pathology].

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the application degree of results from three clinical trials on cardiovascular pathology in clinical practice: SOLVD trial (in patients with congestive heart failure), SAVE trial (in patients with acute myocardial infarction) and SPINAF trial (in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation).

DESIGN

Retrospective cross-sectional study performed in the first six months in 1990 and 1992 (SOLVD trial) and in the first six months in 1991 and 1993 (SAVE trial) admitted to the Consorci Hospitalari del Parc Taulí, and a cross-sectional study in a single randomized sample of all patients with the discharge diagnosis of atrial fibrillation at Hospital Vall d'Hebron during 1994. An absolute increase of 23% and 19% in the prescription of ACEI agents was observed for patients with heart failure and myocardial infarction, respectively. Forty-eight percent of patients with atrial fibrillation received antithrombotic therapy, which included aspirin and acenocoumarine for 51% and 49% of cases, respectively.