Abstract
Objective
To determine the prevalences and clustering of risk factors for coronary artery disease among unselected patients admitted to the first level of hospitalization.
Methods
The survey was prospectively designed to review all the medical records of patients discharged in the week starting at 0800 h on 21 October 1996. Family and personal histories of common risk factors, major routine biochemical data at entry, treatments during hospitalization and diagnoses at discharge (ICD-9 codes) were examined. In total 235 divisions of internal medicine uniformly distributed throughout Italy took part in the survey.
Results
The survey shows that unselected patients admitted to divisions of internal medicine are characterized by a high prevalence of risk factors for coronary artery disease. Some of these are incompletely assessed. Definition of the clustering of risk factors is also far from optimal.
Conclusions
The risk profiles of unselected patients at cardiovascular risk hospitalized in divisions of internal medicine are incompletely assessed. Several reasons may prevent a thorough detection of risk factors and consequently their treatment. There is much potential for improvement.
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