Prescription medication use following AAA screening
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A population based data linkage study examining the use of prescribed medication to reduce cardiovascular risk for men in the Northern Ireland Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Programme
IRAS ID
203459
Contact name
F Kee
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 20 days
Research summary
Men diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are at high risk of other cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and stroke, and require aggressive management of risk factors.
The NHS AAA Screening Programme Standard Operating Procedure states that men identified with an AAA should be treated with a statin and anti-platelet medication unless contraindicated, and to attend their GP for blood pressure measurement. Smokers are advised to access smoking cessation services including nicotine replacement therapy.
In Northern Ireland, all men diagnosed with small and medium AAAs receive advice from a Vascular Nurse Specialist within 48 hours of diagnosis. The men are advised to attend their GP surgery for medication review. A letter is sent to the GP to inform them of the diagnosis; request blood pressure measurement and a medication review including consideration of commencing on antiplatelet and/or statin therapy if appropriate.
The aim of this study is to determine if men are prescribed appropriate medications to reduce their cardiovascular risk following a diagnosis of a small or medium AAA by the screening programme.
The outcomes of this work will help to inform any necessary changes in information, support and advice provided to men and to primary care. This is important in quality assuring the programme in order to maximise its benefits and reduce its risks, including the risk of increasing health inequalities across socioeconomic groups.
We are seeking approval to link patient level data from the NIAAASP database to the Enhanced Prescribing Database in order to address this question, and understand variation in terms of outcome of screening and prescribing practice. The required dataset will be entirely psuedononymised and will not contain the patient’s name, address, or date of birth. The dataset will not be used to contact patients.REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SC/0421
Date of REC Opinion
4 Aug 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion