AIM: To document aspirin usage and the prevalence of large and small vessel complications in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) attending the outpatient diabetes clinics of a large public hospital. METHODS: All patients attending diabetes outpatient clinics at The Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne, Australia were surveyed over a 3-month period. RESULTS: Complete data were available on 629 of 632 (296 male) patients surveyed. Of the 29.3% of patients who were suffering from one or more macrovascular complication (ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease or peripheral vascular disease), 63% were currently on aspirin treatment. Of those not on aspirin, 65% had no contra-indication to aspirin treatment and a further 19% had only a relative contra-indication of either aspirin or warfarin treatment recorded. CONCLUSIONS: The published recommendations for the use of aspirin in patients with macrovascular disease were generally being followed in this clinic-based population. However, a significant proportion of patients without a contra-indication to treatment were still not receiving aspirin. The lack of clear evidence-based guidelines for aspirin use may be a factor in its under-prescription. This survey suggests clear evidence-based guidelines should be established and disseminated.
AIM: To document aspirin usage and the prevalence of large and small vessel complications in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) attending the outpatientdiabetes clinics of a large public hospital. METHODS: All patients attending diabetesoutpatient clinics at The Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne, Australia were surveyed over a 3-month period. RESULTS: Complete data were available on 629 of 632 (296 male) patients surveyed. Of the 29.3% of patients who were suffering from one or more macrovascular complication (ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease or peripheral vascular disease), 63% were currently on aspirin treatment. Of those not on aspirin, 65% had no contra-indication to aspirin treatment and a further 19% had only a relative contra-indication of either aspirin or warfarin treatment recorded. CONCLUSIONS: The published recommendations for the use of aspirin in patients with macrovascular disease were generally being followed in this clinic-based population. However, a significant proportion of patients without a contra-indication to treatment were still not receiving aspirin. The lack of clear evidence-based guidelines for aspirin use may be a factor in its under-prescription. This survey suggests clear evidence-based guidelines should be established and disseminated.