2001 Annual Scientific Forum
Merging Guidelines with Clinical Practice

By John R. Crouse III, MD

The theme for the 2001 Charleston meeting of SELA is "ATP-III: Merging Guidelines with Clinical Practice." The meeting will focus on both the science and pragmatics of the new guidelines for treatment of hyperlipidemia. SELA is fortunate to have two members of the Adult Treatment Panel on its board, Dr. Diane Becker and Dr. James McKinney, and both will be presenting at the program this year. There will be an opportunity for exchange about the thought that went into decisions about many important but perhaps controversial areas of the guidelines. Dr. Richard Pasternak, who is also a member of ATP III, will provide a critical overview, including what is new and what implications it has for practice, as a well as a review of the evidence. Sunday morning break-out sessions are focused on diagnosis and pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic management of dyslilpidemia according to the new guidelines. In-depth presentations by Dr. James Liao (non-lipid effects of statins), Dr. Carlos Ferrario (the hypertension-lipid connection) and Dr. Greg Brown (combination treatment - the HATS trial) as well as a special focus on the metabolic syndrome (from pathophysiology to practice) will be balanced by overviews of practice programs (Ralph La Forge).

In addition, SELA is developing a CD-ROM program that will provide a novel approach to understanding and implementing the new guidelines. We anticipate that we will have a prototype of the CD available by the time of the meeting; the final version will be available at the time of the AHA meeting in November, and SELA members will be afforded the opportunity to "preview" this important educational and practice tool. Much of what occurs at the meeting will be incorporated into the CD-ROM program and the fruitful dialogue among many disciplines will form the basis for shaping our novel education program into something meaningful for all, scientists and practitioners, and multidisciplinary teams.

SELA Begins Development of CD-ROM:
"Clinical Applications of the NCEP Guidelines"

Work is underway to develop an educational CD-ROM program entitled "Clinical Applications of the NCEP Guidelines". This program will be targeted to reach medical professionals having an interest in lipid management strategies for their patients and will be available just prior to the American Heart Association meeting in November.

Six case study presentations are planned for the CD-ROM, which will represent a stratification of patients according to risk. The new NCEP guidelines will be used to evaluate the case and develop management strategies for each situation. Also planned for inclusion in the CD-ROM are a Framingham risk calculator and other tools for the lipid clinic. The program will be accredited for physicians, nurses, dieticians, and pharmacists.

All members of SELA will receive a complimentary copy by mail in November and we hope to achieve further distribution at the AHA meeting and through requests from practices. SELA would like to thank Pfizer Pharmaceuticals for supporting this project through an unrestricted educational grant.