Differences in Statin Usage and Target-Goal Achievement between Departments at the Same Hospital

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 P<0.05). At the 6-month follow-up, compared to patients with T2DM in the endocrinology department, target-goal achievement among patients with T2DM in the department of cardiology was higher (52.90% vs. 41.46%, P<0.01), indicating a significant improvement among patients in the department of cardiology but not for those in the department of endocrinology when compared to baseline. According to the new Chinese guidelines, the goal attainment rate was higher among patients with T2DM combined with CAD in the department of cardiology than in the department of endocrinology (27.62% vs. 19.05%, P<0.05). However, with regard to ATP III 2004, the goal attainment rate was similar for patients with T2DM combined with CAD in both departments during the 6-month follow-up (9.21% vs. 8.84%, P>0.05), 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.