Health Affairs

Health Affairs, 28, no. 4 (2009): 1199-1209 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.4.1199 © 2009 by Project HOPE	New Online   Getting Health Reform Done   After the State of the Union   Incremental Reform   E-Health in Developing World   Most-Read Articles in 2009

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DataWatch

Use Of Beta-Blockers During Aortic Aneurysm Repair: Bridging The Gap Between Evidence And Effective Practice

Benjamin S. Brooke, Francesca Dominici, Martin A. Makary and Peter J. Pronovost

The Leapfrog Group aims to improve patient safety and outcomes in hospitals through promoting the routine use of evidence-based medicine (EBM) practices such as the perioperative use of beta-blocker medications during elective abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. The emergence of recent evidence, however, has sparked debate about the benefits of this practice. We found that implementation of the Leapfrog Group’s beta-blocker standard in California hospitals has led to an estimated 50 percent decrease in mortality following open AAA repair over time. The efficacy and effectiveness of specific EBM practices must be continually reexamined, to ensure that objectives are being met.

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