Study shows stent procedures may be safe at small hospitals
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
April 2, 2008
A new study released by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions shows that angioplasty procedures performed at hospitals that do not have the capability to perform cardiac surgery may be safe. The practice was thought to be unsafe, as the chance that an angioplasty patient may need emergency bypass is possible, though small, reports The Wall Street Journal.The study involved 9,000 angioplasty patients whose registry data was collected from hospitals that had off-site surgery back up, and 300,000 patients whose registry data was collected from hospitals that had on-site surgery back up. Though the data does not show anything conclusive, experts say, it provides some hope for smaller hospitals that don't have a full cardiac surgery team on hand to perform angioplasties.
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