OBJECTIVES: Previous studies conducted in patients with dyslipidemia managed in Spanish Health System (SHS) revealed that, despite guidelines recommendations, even when therapeutic goal is not achieved, treatment remains unchanged even though the availability of alternatives approaches. Atherogenic dyslipidemia (AD) is a specific type of dyslipidemia characterized by the simultaneous presence of several lipid abnormalities, that confers a greater risk of CV disease compared with general population. We aim to determine the degree of adherence of primary care (PC) and specialty care (SC) physicians to clinical guidelines for the management of AD.

METHODS: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. PC and SC physicians working in the SHS and experienced (≥5 years) completed an electronic questionnaire. To assess physicians’ adherence to guidelines, answers about which treatment should be provided for 6 different patient profiles were analyzed: 3 corresponded with AD patients and 3 with dyslipidemia patients. A partial adherence index was calculated as the percentage of adherent physicians for each individual patient profile. Absolute and relative frequencies were calculated.

RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: The greater adherence to and satisfaction with clinical guidelines for the management of AD described in the study may contribute to improve and optimize the management of patients with AD in SHS.