Societal costs of venous thromboembolism and subsequent major bleeding events: a national register-based study

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-137
Author(s):  
Nina Gustafsson ◽  
Peter Bo Poulsen ◽  
Sandra Elkjær Stallknecht ◽  
Lars Dybro ◽  
Søren Paaske Johnsen

Abstract Aims Detailed evidence on the societal costs of venous thromboembolism (VTE), i.e. deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), and of subsequent major bleeding events, e.g. intracranial and gastrointestinal bleedings, is limited. The objective was to estimate the average 3-year societal event costs attributable to VTE and subsequent major bleedings in Denmark. Methods and results Based on nationwide Danish registers, each incident patient diagnosed with VTE in the period from 2004 to 2016 was identified and matched with four non-VTE patients by nearest-neighbour propensity score matching. For bleeding patients, the reference cohort was VTE patients without bleedings. Event costs in terms of VTE, DVT, PE, and major bleedings in VTE patients were measured by the ‘difference-in-actual-cost’ method within 3 years after the incidence. Societal costs included healthcare costs (primary care, hospital, and prescription medicine), municipality home care services, and production loss. The study population included 74 137 VTE incident patients (DVT: 43 099; PE: 31 038), and 4887 VTE patients with a major bleeding within 3 years from VTE diagnosis. The 3-year attributable societal VTE event costs were 40 024 EUR (DVT: 34 509 EUR; PE: 50 083 EUR) with 53% of these costs appearing in the first incident year. Similar results for major bleedings were 51 168 EUR with 46% of these costs appearing in the first incident year. Conclusion The societal costs of VTE and subsequent major bleedings are substantial and ought to be considered. Estimated costs of events may be informative in evaluating the impact of preventive interventions targeting VTE and subsequent major bleedings.

2016 ◽  
Vol 115 (02) ◽  
pp. 291-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Z. Goldhaber ◽  
Ajay Kakkar ◽  
Clive Kearon ◽  
Henry Eriksson ◽  
Jörg Kreuzer ◽  
...  

SummaryDabigatran was as effective as warfarin for the acute treatment of venous thromboembolism in the RE-COVER and RE-COVER II trials. We compared the incidence of bleeding with dabigatran versus warfarin in pooled data from these studies. The localisation, bleeding severity, and the impact of key factors on the incidence of bleeding, were compared between the dabigatran and warfarin treatment group. Altogether, 2553 patients received dabigatran and 2554 warfarin, each for a mean of 164 days. The incidence of any bleeding event was significantly lower with dabigatran (hazard ratio [HR] 0.70; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 0.61–0.79), as was the incidence of the composite of MBEs and clinically relevant non-major bleeding events (HR 0.62; 95 % CI, 0.50–0.76). The incidence of major bleeding events (MBEs) was also significantly lower with dabigatran in the double-dummy phase (HR, 0.60; 95 % CI, 0.36–0.99) but not statistically different between the two treatment arms when the entire treatment period is considered (HR 0.73 95 % CI, 0.48–1.11). Increasing age, reduced renal function, Asian ethnicity, and concomitant antiplatelet therapy were associated with higher bleeding rates in both treatment groups. The reduction in bleeding with dabigatran compared to warfarin was consistent among the subgroups and with a similar pattern for intracranial, and urogenital major bleeding. In conclusion, treatment of venous thromboembolism with dabigatran is associated with a lower risk of bleeding compared to warfarin. This reduction did not differ with respect to the location of bleeding or among predefined subgroups.


Author(s):  
Alexandra Jayne Nelson ◽  
Brian W Johnston ◽  
Alicia Achiaa Charlotte Waite ◽  
Gedeon Lemma ◽  
Ingeborg Dorothea Welters

Background. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in critically ill patients. There is a paucity of data assessing the impact of anticoagulation strategies on clinical outcomes for general critical care patients with AF. Our aim was to assess the existing literature to evaluate the effectiveness of anticoagulation strategies used in critical care for AF. Methodology. A systematic literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL and PubMed databases. Studies reporting anticoagulation strategies for AF in adults admitted to a general critical care setting were assessed for inclusion. Results. Four studies were selected for data extraction. A total of 44087 patients were identified with AF, of which 17.8-49.4% received anticoagulation. The reported incidence of thromboembolic events was 0-1.4% for anticoagulated patients, and 0-1.3% in non-anticoagulated patients. Major bleeding events were reported in three studies and occurred in 7.2-8.6% of the anticoagulated patients and up to 7.1% of the non-anticoagulated patients. Conclusions. There was an increased incidence of major bleeding events in anticoagulated patients with AF in critical care compared to non-anticoagulated patients. There was no significant difference in the incidence of reported thromboembolic events within studies, between patients who did and did not receive anticoagulation. However, the outcomes reported within studies were not standardised, therefore, the generalisability of our results to the general critical care population remains unclear. Further data is required to facilitate an evidence-based assessment of the risks and benefits of anticoagulation for critically ill patients with AF.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faizan Khan ◽  
Miriam Kimpton ◽  
Tobias Tritschler ◽  
Grégoire Le Gal ◽  
Brian Hutton ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The optimal duration of anticoagulation after a first unprovoked venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains controversial. Deciding to stop or continue anticoagulant therapy indefinitely after completing 3 to 6 months of initial treatment requires balancing the long-term risk of recurrent VTE if anticoagulation is stopped against the long-term risk of major bleeding if anticoagulation is continued. However, knowledge of the long-term risk for major bleeding events during extended anticoagulation in this patient population is limited. We plan to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify the risk for major bleeding events during extended oral anticoagulation in patients with first unprovoked VTE. Methods Electronic databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials will be systematically searched with the assistance of an information specialist (from inception to March 1, 2019) to identify randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies reporting major bleeding during extended oral anticoagulation in patients with first unprovoked VTE, who have completed at least 3 months of initial anticoagulant therapy. Study selection, risk of bias assessment, and data extraction will be performed independently by at least two investigators. The number of major bleeding events and person-years of follow-up will be used to calculate the rate (events per 100 person-years) with its 95% confidence interval for each study cohort, during clinically relevant time periods of extended anticoagulant therapy. Results will be pooled using random effect meta-analysis. Discussion The planned systematic review and meta-analysis will provide reliable estimates of the risk for major bleeding events during extended anticoagulation. This information will help inform patient prognosis and assist clinicians with balancing the risks and benefits of treatment to guide management of unprovoked VTE. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42019128597.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 1157-1157
Author(s):  
Minh Phan ◽  
Sonia John ◽  
Ana Isabel Casanegra ◽  
Alfonso Tafur

Abstract Abstract 1157 Background: Venous thromboembolism [VTE] is the second highest cause of mortality among patients with cancer. However, pharmacological thromboprophylaxis for patients with solid tumor is only recommended during hospitalization. Primary outpatient thromboprophylaxis is not a widely accepted practice. Objective: Determine safety and efficacy of outpatient primary VTE prophylaxis in patients with solid tumors. Data sources: A systematic review was conducted using MEDLINE and EMBASE up to June 2012. Key search words included venous thromboembolism, malignancy, anticoagulants, and chemotherapy. Studies were considered for our meta-analysis if they included outpatient primary pharmacological thromboprophylaxis in adult patients with active solid cancer. All the information was independently reviewed by 2 of the authors [MP, SJ] and a third reviewer resolved discrepancies. The measure of association was calculated with R (R: A Language and Environment for Statistical, R Development Core Team, www.R-project.org), R META package (Version 0.8–2, Author: Guido Schwarzer). The Q statistic was calculated and a formal test of homogeneity was conducted. Random-effects model was preferred in case of heterogeneity. Results: A total of 1371 abstracts were reviewed and 29 manuscripts were fully abstracted. Eight randomized controlled trials including 6706 patients were analyzed. There were less VTE events with outpatient prophylaxis: odds ratio [OR] of 0.53 (95% CI, 0.40–0.70). Six studies used low or ultra-low molecular weight heparin and two studies used warfarin. In the subgroup analysis of heparin based primary prophylaxis, there was a significant reduction in VTE events [OR 0.47, 95% CI, 0.34–0.64], no significant heterogeneity [FIG 1]. In addition, there was no difference in major bleeding events between groups [OR 1.48, 95% CI, 0.89–2.46]. Five studies reported mortality data; there was significant heterogeneity between studies. Conclusions: Heparin based outpatient VTE prophylaxis in patients with solid tumors reduced by half the risk of VTE with no significant differences in major bleeding events. The current publications do not allow a meaningful grouped analysis of survival data, improved patient selection is necessary in order to adequately target VTE prevention strategies. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (04) ◽  
pp. 348-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinhard Raggam ◽  
Franz Hafner ◽  
Alexander Avian ◽  
Gerald Hackl ◽  
Gerhard Cvirn ◽  
...  

AbstractThe aim of this study was prospective evaluation of the performance of the HAS-BLED score in predicting major bleeding complications in a real-world outpatient cohort, during long-term anticoagulation for venous thromboembolism (VTE), treated with a broad spectrum of anticoagulants. We analyzed 111 outpatients objectively diagnosed with VTE and treated long-term with various anticoagulants. Patients were grouped in three cohorts based on the anticoagulant regimen. Calculation of the HAS-BLED score and documentation of bleeding events were performed every 6 months for 1 year. Patients with a HAS-BLED score ≥ 3 had an increased risk for major bleeding events (odds ratio [OR]: 13.05, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.96–692.58, p = 0.028) and a trend to higher risk for minor bleeding events as well (OR: 2.25, 95% CI: 0.87–5.85, p = 0.091) when compared with patients with a HAS-BLED score < 3.This indicates that a HAS-BLED score ≥ 3 allows for identification of patients with VTE on long-term anticoagulation at an increased risk for major bleeding events, irrespective of the anticoagulant agent used.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 1179545X1986381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Dybdahl ◽  
Grant Walliser ◽  
Michelle Pershing ◽  
Christy Collins ◽  
David Robinson

Background: The appropriate dose of enoxaparin for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in low body weight patients is unknown. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of enoxaparin dosing on major and minor bleeding events in low body weight patients. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients weighing less than 45 kg receiving subcutaneous (SC) enoxaparin for VTE prevention. The primary objective was to determine whether enoxaparin dose was associated with major and minor bleeding. The secondary objective was to determine the incidence of VTE by enoxaparin dose. Results: There were 173 patients included in the study, of which 37 patients received 2 different courses of enoxaparin during hospitalization, resulting in 210 enoxaparin courses. Among all enoxaparin courses, 16.2% were associated with major bleeding and 5.2% with minor bleeding. There was no difference in the incidence of major bleeding by dose (enoxaparin 30 mg SC daily, 30 mg SC twice daily, or 40 mg SC daily; P = .409). Patients who experienced major bleeding were older (54.9 ± 16.1 years) than patients who did not (48.4 ± 18.4 years) ( P = .043). There was no difference in the incidence of minor bleeding by dosing schedule ( P = .14). No patients experienced a VTE. Conclusion and Relevance: The risk of bleeding was similar by enoxaparin dose but increased with age in low body weight patients. Given the low incidence of VTE in this study, it is reasonable to consider decreasing the prophylactic enoxaparin dose in low body weight patients, especially in the elderly population.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 3675-3675
Author(s):  
Renata Almeida Sa ◽  
Fatimah Al-Ani ◽  
Alejandro Lazo-Langner ◽  
Martha L Louzada

Background: Obesity is a well-known risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE), however, obese patients are under-represented in clinical trials (1;2). Four direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been approved for the treatment of acute VTE (3-6), including the direct Factor Xa inhibitors rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban and the direct thrombin inhibitor, dabigatran. Given the lack of data in this population, it is unclear if DOACs can be used safely. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of DOACs for the treatment of VTE in obese patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, single-centre cohort study in London (Canada) to compare the efficacy and safety of DOACs for the treatment of acute VTE in obese patients. We screened electronic and hard copy charts of adult patients referred to our thrombosis clinic for treatment of an objectively confirmed acute VTE between January 2012 and December 2017. Patients treated with DOACs or Warfarin were selected and followed from diagnosis of the index event until cessation of anticoagulation or up to 1 year. Our study population was analyzed by BMI (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2versus &lt; 30 kg/m2) and body weight (≥120 kg vs. &lt;120 kg). Patients were excluded if they were on anticoagulation therapy for conditions other than VTE (e.g; atrial fibrillation), cancer-associated thrombosis, or missing data. The primary outcome measure was VTE recurrence during the anticoagulation treatment period and was defined according to the ISTH criteria (7). Our secondary outcome was the occurrence of bleeding events A bleeding event is defined as: a) Major Bleeding: bleed resulting in a hemoglobin drop of &gt; 20 g/L, clinically overt and requiring more than 2 units of packed red blood cells, a hemorrhage requiring permanent cessation of anticoagulation and any retroperitoneal or intracranial hemorrhage; b) Minor Bleeding: bleed with no or little clinical significance, associated with no cost and does not require medical evaluation; and c) clinically significant non-major bleeding: does not fulfill criteria for major or minor bleeding but requires patients to be seek medical attention and/or minor procedures (8). Groups were compared using Chi-square or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables, as appropriate. The significance level was set at 0.05. Risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for VTE recurrence and bleeding among DOAC groups and patients treated with Warfarin were analyzed by logistic regression. All statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics version 25 (IBM Corp. Released 2017. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Results: Of 1143 potentially eligible patients, 777 fulfilled our inclusion criteria: 278 (35.8%) obese patients treated with DOACs, 266 (34.2%) non-obese patients on DOACS and 233 (30%) obese patients on Warfarin. Of the patients on DOACs, 80% (n= 436) were on rivaroxaban, while the remaining 20% were either on apixaban or edoxaban (n= 108). Among patients on DOACs VTE recurrence was observed in 2.1% (N=6) of patients with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 and 2.8% (N=2) of patients with 120 kg or more, with no differences in the risk of VTE recurrence (Table 1). The proportion of major bleeding events for patients on DOACs was 1.1% (N=3) for patients with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 and 1.4% (N=1) for patients with 120kg or more. There were no significant differences with respect to major and total bleeding risk (Table1). When comparing obese patients on DOACs vs Warfarin we did not find differences in the risk of VTE recurrence among patients with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 [RR 2.59 95% IC (0.51-12.96), p= 0. 247] or body weight ≥120 kg [RR 4.33 95% IC (0.21-89.43), p= 0. 337] (Table 2). Among obese patients those treated with DOACs had a similar proportion and risk of total bleeding and major bleeding events compared to those on warfarin (Table 2). Conclusions: Our retrospective study suggests that DOACs at standard doses appear to have similar efficacy and safety in obese patients as defined herein. However, since most of our patients were treated with rivaroxaban, information on other agents is inconclusive. Information on patients with extreme body weight was limited. Disclosures Louzada: Bayer: Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria.


2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (07) ◽  
pp. 155-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjolein Brekelmans ◽  
Suzanne Bleker ◽  
Rupert Bauersachs ◽  
Zoltan Boda ◽  
Harry Büller ◽  
...  

SummaryEdoxaban is a once-daily direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC). The Hokusai-VTE study revealed that, after initial treatment with heparin, edoxaban was non-inferior to and safer than vitamin K antagonists (VKA) in the prevention of recurrent deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. This is the first report on the clinical relevance and management of bleeding events with edoxaban. All major bleeding events were classified blindly by three study-independent adjudicators. Predefined criteria were used to classify severity of clinical presentation and, separately, the clinical course and outcome into four categories. Major bleeding occurred in 56 patients treated with edoxaban and 65 patients treated with VKA. The severest categories (3 or 4) of the clinical presentation were assigned to 46 % of the major bleeding episodes in edoxaban recipients versus 58 % of the major bleeds in VKA recipients (odds ratio [OR] 0.62, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.30–1.27, p = 0.19). Clinical course was classified as severe (category 3 or 4) in 23 % of the edoxaban and 29 % of the VKA associated bleeds (OR 0.73, 95 % CI 0.32–1.66, p = 0.46). In conclusion, edoxaban associated major bleeding events have a comparable clinical presentation and course to major bleeds with VKA in patients treated for venous thromboembolism in the Hokusai-VTE study. These results may assure physicians that it is safe to prescribe this medication. If a major bleeding during edoxaban treatment occurs, its clinical presentation and clinical course are not worse than in VKA-treated patients.


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