NCT01325116

Brief Summary

ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a common presentation of heart attack constituting approximately 30% of all cases. Clinical guidelines around the world support the prolonged use of secondary preventative medications including aspirin, clopidogrel, statin, beta-blocker and angiotensin blockers with the highest recommendations. While in-hospital and discharge prescription rates are excellent, adherence to these essential life-saving medications is far less than ideal, even a few months following hospital discharge. The investigators plan to capitalize on the existing structure of the SMART-AMI project already underway in LHIN IV to undertake a randomized controlled trial evaluating a reminder sent on behalf of the interventional cardiologists, delivered by mail, at 1, 2, 5, 8, and 11-months post-discharge, reviewing the evidence for life-saving cardiac medications and urging long-term adherence to secondary preventative cardiac medications. This will be sent to the family physician and the patient, using audience-appropriate language. If the DERLA-STEMI project is accepted by physicians and patients, found to be both feasible and effective, then this simple and low-cost intervention will be studied in all patients with an abnormal coronary angiogram.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
852

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Sep 2011

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

March 28, 2011

Completed
1 day until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

March 29, 2011

Completed
5 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

September 1, 2011

Completed
1.3 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 1, 2012

Completed
3 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

March 1, 2013

Completed
Last Updated

August 31, 2018

Status Verified

August 1, 2018

Enrollment Period

1.3 years

First QC Date

March 28, 2011

Last Update Submit

August 28, 2018

Conditions

Keywords

STEMIMedication AdherenceQuality Improvement

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Cardiac Medication Use

    Proportion of patients who report taking all cardiac medication classes, measured three and twelve months post-STEMI. Specifically, we will assess whether patients are taking a statin, beta-blocker, angiotensin modifier (ACE or ARB), and aspirin at twelve months, and whether they are taking these plus a secondary antiplatelet (clopidogrel, prasugrel, or ticagrelor) at three months.

    3 and 12 months

Secondary Outcomes (6)

  • Other Evidence-based Cardiac Medication Use

    3 and 12 months

  • Statin Dose

    3 and 12 months

  • Medication Side-effects

    3 and 12 months

  • Discussion with Family physician/specialist

    3 and 12 months

  • Use of medication combinations

    3 and 12 months

  • +1 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (2)

Control

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Usual post-STEMI care

Behavioral: Educational Reminder

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Recurrent, personalized, educational reminders sent via post on behalf of the interventional cardiologist to the patient and their family physician urging long-term adherence to secondary prevention medications post-STEMI. A copy of the letter will be provided to the patient to take to their pharmacist.

Behavioral: Educational Reminder

Interventions

Personalized letters sent via post to the patient and their family physician at one, five, eight, and eleven months after their angiogram, sent on behalf of the interventional cardiologist. The patient letter provides a review of the role of each of the cardiac medications and urges long-term adherence. The language in the patient letter is simplified to a grade 6 level; this letter was tested for understanding and acceptability amongst a series of Cardiology patients.At the same time, close examination of data from Ontario indicated large stepwise declines in adherence at 30 and 60 days post-STEMI. To address this, patients will be provided an additional postcard type reminder two months post-STEMI.

ControlIntervention

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Admitted with STEMI to a hospital in LHIN IV, coronary angiogram with and without PCI at Hamilton General Hospital during hospital admission

You may not qualify if:

  • Non-english speaking

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Hamilton Health Sciences-General Site, Heart Investigation Unit

Hamilton, Ontario, L8L 2X2, Canada

Location

Related Publications (2)

  • Schwalm JD, Ivers NM, Natarajan MK, Taljaard M, Rao-Melacini P, Witteman HO, Zwarenstein M, Grimshaw JM. Cluster randomized controlled trial of Delayed Educational Reminders for Long-term Medication Adherence in ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (DERLA-STEMI). Am Heart J. 2015 Nov;170(5):903-13. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2015.08.014. Epub 2015 Aug 20.

  • Ivers NM, Schwalm JD, Grimshaw JM, Witteman H, Taljaard M, Zwarenstein M, Natarajan MK. Delayed educational reminders for long-term medication adherence in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (DERLA-STEMI): protocol for a pragmatic, cluster-randomized controlled trial. Implement Sci. 2012 Jun 9;7:54. doi: 10.1186/1748-5908-7-54.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

ST Elevation Myocardial InfarctionMedication Adherence

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Myocardial InfarctionMyocardial IschemiaHeart DiseasesCardiovascular DiseasesVascular DiseasesInfarctionIschemiaPathologic ProcessesPathological Conditions, Signs and SymptomsNecrosisPatient CompliancePatient Acceptance of Health CareTreatment Adherence and ComplianceHealth BehaviorBehavior

Study Officials

  • Jon-David R Schwalm, BSc, MD

    McMaster University/Hamilton Health Sciences/Population Health Research Institute

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Interventional Cardiologist

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

March 28, 2011

First Posted

March 29, 2011

Study Start

September 1, 2011

Primary Completion

December 1, 2012

Study Completion

March 1, 2013

Last Updated

August 31, 2018

Record last verified: 2018-08

Locations