[Continuing medical education about the use of antilipemic agents in elderly patients aged 65-75 years].

OBJECTIVE

The objective is evaluating the efficacy of the educative intervention to primary care physicians, about the accurate dyslipidaemia management in population between 65 and 75 years old with hypercholesterolemia.

DESIGN

Simple-blind random clinical trial.

SETTING

Area 10 primary care (National Institute of Health of Spain).

STUDY SUBJECTS

. Thirty eight primary care physicians of Area 10. Seven hundred and five patients between 65 and 75 years old with dyslipidaemia.

INTERVENTIONS

Clinical session to physicians about the dyslipidaemia management, reinforced with the shipment of the accurate management criteria and bibliographic information. Physicians were followed up for one year.

RESULTS

The therapeutic management varied (p = 0.03) in the experimental group after educative intervention. The dietetic therapeutic increased 6.56 percent (p = 0.21), the therapeutic with HMG-CoA-reductase inhibitors increased 4.16 percent (p = 0.36), and the therapeutic with fibric-acid derivates decreased 4.22 percent (p = 0.24). The criteria fulfillment rate of accurate dyslipidaemia management did not vary (p = 1.0) in the control group (44.3 percent) and there was hardly any variation (from 49.4 percent to 49.1) in the experimental group (p = 0.96). The fulfillment rate decreased 7,56 percent (p = 0.25) when dyslipidaemia managed with only diet. The fulfillment improved 17,17 percent (p = 0.14) if dyslipidaemia managed with fibric-acid derivates, and it improved 17,58 percent (p = 0.06) if was managed with HMG-CoA-reductase inhibitors.

CONCLUSIONS

The educative session to primary care physicians reinforced with the shipment of the received information, is not likely to relieve the criteria fulfillment rate of accurate management of population between 65 and 75 years old with hypercholesterolemia.