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CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal logoLink to CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal
. 1993 Oct 1;149(7):965–973.

Sex-related differences in coronary revascularization practices: the perspective from a Canadian queue management project.

C D Naylor 1, C M Levinton 1
PMCID: PMC1485613  PMID: 8402425

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess sex-related differences in coronary revascularization practices in a Canadian setting. DESIGN: Prospective analytic cohort study. SETTING: Regional referral office in Toronto. PATIENTS: A selected but consecutive group of 131 women and 440 men referred by cardiologists for revascularization procedures between Jan. 3, 1989, and June 30, 1991. INTERVENTIONS: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Nurse-coordinators placed the referral with a surgeon or interventional cardiologist at one of three hospitals, who then communicated directly with the referring cardiologist. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Symptom status at referral, procedures requested and performed, and time from referral to procedure. RESULTS: Although the women were more likely than the men to have unstable angina at the time of referral (odds ratio [OR] 2.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.38 to 3.79, p = 0.0006), more women than men (16.8% v. 12.1%) were turned down for a procedure. Significant sex-related differences in practice patterns (p < 0.001) persisted after controlling for age or for the referring cardiologists' perception of expected procedural risk. A stepwise multivariate model showed that anatomy was the main determinant of case management; sex was the only other significant variable (p = 0.016). The referring physicians requested CABG more often for men than for women (p = 0.009), and the men accepted for a procedure were much more likely to undergo CABG than the women (OR 2.40, CI 1.47 to 3.93, p = 0.0002). Although the women undergoing CABG waited shorter periods than the men (p = 0.0035), this difference was attributable to their more severe symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: In this selected group women had more serious symptoms before referral but were turned down for revascularization more often than men. Reduced use of CABG rather than PTCA largely accounted for the sex-related differences in revascularization. Once accepted for a procedure women had shorter waiting times, which was appropriate given their more severe symptoms.

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Selected References

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