Introduction Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is increasing in prevalence worldwide and is associated with significant risk of cardiovascular complications. NICE guidelines advocate combination therapy with clopidogrel 75 mg and atorvastatin 80 mg as first line for secondary prevention of PAD. We conducted a closed-loop audit to investigate whether patients with PAD admitted under the vascular surgical team at Basildon University Hospital (BTUH) were appropriately prescribed antiplatelet and statin therapy in accordance with NICE guidelines.

Methods An initial audit was performed investigating which antiplatelets and statins vascular surgical patients were prescribed during admission to BTUH. Data was collected over a 2-week period in December 2018 and presented at the local surgical audit meeting. Additionally, results were presented as an educational intervention at departmental teaching sessions aimed at junior doctors. A re-audit was conducted in April 2019 to evaluate the effectiveness of interventional strategies.

Results A total of 12 vascular patients were included with a mean age of 68 years. Co-morbidities included diabetes, CKD, hypertension, heart failure. Marked improvement was observed in both antiplatelet and statin prescribing following intervention. All patients received antiplatelets, with 50% being prescribed clopidogrel 75 mg alone, an increase from 13% observed in the initial audit. Further, all patients received statins, with 66.7% of patients being prescribed atorvastatin 80 mg, an increase from 26.7% seen in our initial audit.

Conclusion Patients with PAD should be commenced on clopidogrel 75 mg daily and atorvastatin 80 mg daily. Our results demonstrate that significant improvements were made with educational intervention and effective multidisciplinary co-operation. Our work may be replicated in different hospital trusts nationally with the aim of improving compliance with NICE guidance on secondary prevention of PAD.