Aims: To investigate the application of the European Society of Cardiology Acute Cardiovascular Care Association quality indicators (QI) for acute myocardial infarction for the study of hospital performance and 30-day mortality.
Methods and results: National cohort study (n = 118,075 patients, n = 211 hospitals, MINAP registry), 2012-13. Overall, 16 of the 20 QIs could be calculated. Eleven QIs had a significant inverse association with GRACE risk adjusted 30-day mortality (all P < 0.005). The association with the greatest magnitude was high attainment of the composite opportunity-based QI (80-100%) vs. zero attainment (odds ratio 0.04, 95% confidence interval 0.04-0.05, P < 0.001), increasing attainment from low (0.42, 0.37- 0.49, P < 0.001) to intermediate (0.15, 0.13-0.16, P < 0.001) was significantly associated with a reduced risk of 30-day mortality. A 1% increase in attainment of this QI was associated with a 3% reduction in 30-day mortality (0.97, 0.97-0.97, P < 0.001). The QI with the widest hospital variation was 'fondaparinux received among NSTEMI' (interquartile range 84.7%) and least variation 'centre organisation' (0.0%), with seven QIs depicting minimal variation (<11%). GRACE risk score adjusted 30-day mortality varied by hospital (median 6.7%, interquartile range 5.4-7.9%).
Conclusions: Eleven QIs were significantly inversely associated with 30-day mortality. Increasing patient attainment of the composite quality indicator was the most powerful predictor; a 1% increase in attainment represented a 3% decrease in 30-day standardised mortality. The ESC QIs for acute myocardial infarction are applicable in a large health system and have the potential to improve care and reduce unwarranted variation in death from acute myocardial infarction.
Keywords: Acute myocardial infarction; Hospital performance; Mortality; Quality indicators.
© The Author 2017. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology