Utilization of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty for quality assurance in health care from 1983 to 1996.

Objectives: To examine the distribution of interventional cardiac catheterization laboratories, their case load, the time trends, and the regional variation of percutaneous transluminal cutaneous angioplasty (PTCA) utilization in Italy.
Methods: Analysis of data was provided by the annual reports of the Italian Group of Studies and Interventional Cardiology over the period from 1983 to 1996.
Results: The number of PTCA facilities and their use steadily increased, mainly in the North. In 1996 the utilization rate was 34 per 100,000 population, but only 60% of labs performed 200 or more procedures.
Conclusions: Dramatic time trends and regional variations often took place without an epidemiology and technology assessment-based planning process.