Cardiology audit and registration data standards

Summary

Data collection and analysis are central to understanding the practice of interventional cardiovascular medicine. Whilst the randomised trial is an effective mechanism for comparing treatments, actual practice is best reflected in the unselected observational systems that comprise national and regional registries as well as local audit. Interpreting data from such a wide variety of sources can be confounded by a lack of uniformity in definitions and in what is considered essential to record. With the aim of harmonising data standards , under the auspices of the European union during the Irish presidency (2004), a data framework, consisting of three modules (ACS, PCI, EP), was developed and promulgated by the European Society of Cardiology. This work is acknowledged and the PCI module reproduced here to emphasise its continued important role in European interventional cardiology.

Acknowledgements

The CARDS co-ordination committee chaired by Prof Maarten L Simoons and the CARDS expert committee on PCI: Dr Anselm K Gitt, Dr Roger Boyle, Ms Rachel Flynn, Prof. Ricardo Seabra-Gomes, Dr José Maria Hernåndez, Prof Ciro Indolfi, Dr Peter Ludman, Prof Jean Marco, Dr Tage Nilsson, Dr Emer Shelley, Dr Declan Sufrue, Prof Jan GP Tijssen, Prof Eric Van Belle.

Dr Yanish Purmah for assistance with...