In a pilot study of coronary artery bypass patients conducted to assess adherence to recommendations that reduce secondary risk, researchers found a systematic approach can help improve utilization of strategies that have been shown to increase survival, reduce recurrent event and diminish the need for interventional procedures.

In "Use of the ABC Care Bundle to Standardize Guideline Implementation in a Cardiac Surgical Population: A Pilot Study," published online this summer in Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Jerilyn Allen, associate dean for research at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and other Johns Hopkins nurse researchers describe their study comparing postoperative coronary artery bypass surgery patients cared for after implementation of the systematic ABC Care Bundle approach and a similar group who received treatment prior to the new approach.

They found more positive outcomes with the ABC approach, which features reminder systems to promote the prescription of recommended medications and lifestyle counseling, including adhering to drug therapy and following medical advice on smoking, diet and weight management, exercise and diabetes control. The authors concluded the "study provided evidence supporting the effectiveness of a systematic strategy to improve adherence to guidelines."

The study was funded by a grant from the Dorothy Evans Lyne Fund, which supports pilot studies of nursing interventions designed to improve patient care and outcomes and which are conducted by teams of nurses from the School of Nursing and The Johns Hopkins Hospital and their interdisciplinary colleagues.

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