scholarly journals The prevalence of long-term oral anticoagulation therapy in a cardiology center in Bucharest, Romania

2018 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-41
Author(s):  
Adelina-Mihaela Sorescu ◽  
Tudor Enache ◽  
Suzana Guberna

Background and aims. Few studies discuss the prevalence of oral anticoagulation therapy (OAT) in clinical practice, despite their increasing use worldwide. In America, studies established that 20% to 80% of the patients with indication benefit from OAT. In Romania, there is no data regarding the utilization of oral anticoagulants. Thus, this study aims to determine the trends of OAT.Methods. We designed a cross-sectional study of the patients admitted to the Cardiology Department of the “Bagdasar-Arseni” Clinical Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, from the 1st of November 2016 until the 31st of January 2017. We considered OAT indications to be: atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF), pulmonary embolisms (PE), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), intramural or intracavitary thrombi and left ventricle aneurysms. Statistical analysis was performed with EpiInfo.Results. There were 783 patients admitted, 253 of these having an OAT indication (mean age 73.25 years, 53.75% female). Only 162 patients (64.03%) received it, either Vitamin K Antagonists (VKA) (78 patients, 48.14%), or Novel Oral Anticoagulants (NOAC) (84 patients, 51.85%). Reasons for not indicating such therapy included the hemorrhage risk (43.27%), the lack of adherence to the treatment (18.56%), the impossibility of INR monitoring (21.84%), the economic status (10.21%) and others (6.12%). 221 patients had AF (87.35%), 141 (63.8%) receiving OAT, VKA (67 patients, 47.51%), or NOAC (74 patients, 52.48%). 17 patients (6.71%) had a PE and/or DVT. 15 (88.23%) received OAT, AVK (11 patients, 73.33%), or NOAC (4 patients, 26.67%). 15 patients (5.92%) had other OAT indications (excepting AF or PE/DVT), 11 receiving OAT (73.33%), AVK (8 patients, 72.72%), or NOAC (3 patients, 27.27%).Conclusions. Our study determined that 64.03% of those with indication received OAT. Similar data is reported in the USA, suggesting an underuse of anticoagulants. The risk of hemorrhage, lack of adherence, the impossibility of INR monitoring or the economic status were some of the reasons for not recommending OAT.

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Zahid ◽  
Syed Wajih Ul Hassan ◽  
Nida Sehar Bhurya ◽  
Sheena Nadeem Alam ◽  
Choudhary Ahmed Hasan ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Fragão-Marques ◽  
Francisco Teixeira ◽  
Jennifer Mancio ◽  
Nair Seixas ◽  
João Rocha-Neves ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Post-operative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is the most common complication after cardiac surgery. Recent studies had shown this phenomenon is no longer considered transitory and is associated with higher risk of thromboembolic events or death. The aim of this study was to systematically review and analyze previous studies comparing oral anticoagulation therapy with no anticoagulation, regarding these long-term outcomes. Methods PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Database were systematically searched to identify the studies comparing the risk of stroke, or thromboembolic events or mortality of POAF patients who received anticoagulation compared with those who were not anticoagulated. Incidence of stroke, thromboembolic events and all-cause mortality were evaluated up to 10 years after surgery. Time-to-event outcomes were collected through hazard ratio (HR) along with their variance and the early endpoints using frequencies or odds ratio (OR). Random effect models were used to compute statistical combined measures and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Heterogeneity was evaluated through Q statistic-related measures of variance (Tau2, I2, Chi-squared test). Results Eight observational cohort studies were selected, including 15,335 patients (3492 on Oral Anticoagulants (OAC) vs 11,429 without OAC) that met the inclusion criteria for qualitative synthesis. Patients had a wide gender distribution (38.6–82.3%), each study with a mean age above 65 years (67.5–85). Vitamin K antagonists were commonly prescribed anticoagulants (74.3–100%). OAC was associated with a protective impact on all-cause mortality at a mean of 5.0 years of follow-up (HR is 0.85 [0.72–1.01]; p = 0.07; I2 = 48%). Thromboembolic events did not differ between the two treatment arms (HR 0.68 [0.40–1.15], p = 0.15). Conclusion Current literature suggests a possibly protective impact of OAC therapy for all-cause mortality in patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery. However, it does not appear to impact thromboembolism rate.


Author(s):  
Vincenzo Russo ◽  
Roberta Bottino ◽  
Antonello D’Andrea ◽  
Angelo Silverio ◽  
Marco Di Maio ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose The clinical course of COVID-19 may be complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and thromboembolic events, which are associated with high risk of mortality. Although previous studies reported a lower rate of death in patients treated with heparin, the potential benefit of chronic oral anticoagulation therapy (OAT) remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the association between OAT with the risk of ARDS and mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Methods This is a multicenter retrospective Italian study including consecutive patients hospitalized for COVID-19 from March 1 to April 22, 2020, at six Italian hospitals. Patients were divided into two groups according to the chronic assumption of oral anticoagulants. Results Overall, 427 patients were included; 87 patients (19%) were in the OAT group. Of them, 54 patients (13%) were on treatment with non-vitamin k oral anticoagulants (NOACs) and 33 (8%) with vitamin-K antagonists (VKAs). OAT patients were older and had a higher rate of hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease compared to No-OAT group. The rate of ARDS at admission (26% vs 28%, P=0.834), or developed during the hospitalization (9% vs 10%, P=0.915), was similar between study groups; in-hospital mortality (22% vs 26%, P=0.395) was also comparable. After balancing for potential confounders by using the propensity score matching technique, no differences were found in term of clinical outcome between OAT and No-OAT patients Conclusion Oral anticoagulation therapy, either NOACs or VKAs, did not influence the risk of ARDS or death in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 1000-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuhiko Kido ◽  
Michael J. Scalese

Objective: To evaluate current clinical evidence for management of oral anticoagulation therapy after gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) with an emphasis on whether to, when to, and how to resume an anticoagulation therapy. Data Sources: Relevant articles from MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases were identified from 1946 through May 20, 2017, using the keywords: gastrointestinal hemorrhage or gastrointestinal bleeding and antithrombotic therapy or anticoagulation therapy or warfarin or dabigatran or rivaroxaban or apixaban or edoxaban.Study Selection and Data Extraction: All English-language studies assessing management of oral anticoagulation therapy after GIB were evaluated. Data Synthesis: A total of 9 studies were identified. Four retrospective cohort studies showed that resuming anticoagulation therapy was associated with significantly lower rate of thromboembolism (TE) in the general population. Meta-analyses and prospective cohort studies also supported this finding. Two retrospective cohort studies indicated an increase in GIB when anticoagulation reinitiation occurred in less than 7 days without a decrease in TE. Resuming therapy between 7 and 15 days did not demonstrate a significant increase in GIB or TE. A large retrospective study showed that apixaban was associated with the significantly lowest risk of GIB compared with both rivaroxaban and dabigatran. Conclusion: Anticoagulation therapy resumption is recommended, with resumption being considered between 7 and 14 days following GIB regardless of the therapy chosen. Data for warfarin management after GIB should be applied with caution to direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) because of the quicker onset and experimental nature of reversal agents. Apixaban may be a preferred option when restarting a DOAC therapy.


Author(s):  
Inês Esteves Cruz ◽  
Pedro Ferreira ◽  
Raquel Silva ◽  
Francisco Silva ◽  
Isabel Madruga

Inferior vena cava (IVC) agenesis is a rare congenital abnormality affecting the infrarenal segment, the suprarenal or the whole of the IVC. It has an estimated prevalence of up to 1% in the general population that can rise to 8.7% when abnormalities of the left renal vein are considered. Most IVC malformations are asymptomatic but may be associated with nonspecific symptoms or present as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Up to 5% of young individuals under 30 years of age with unprovoked DVT are found to have this condition. Regarding the treatment of IVC agenesis-associated DVT, there are no standard guidelines. Treatment is directed towards preventing thrombosis or its recurrence. Low molecular weight heparin and oral anticoagulation medication, in particular vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) are the mainstay of therapy. Given the high risk of DVT recurrence in these patients, oral anticoagulation therapy is suggested to be pursued indefinitely. As far as we know, this is the first case reporting the use of a direct factor Xa inhibitor in IVC agenesis-associated DVT. Given VKA monitoring limitations, the use of a direct Xa inhibitor could be an alternative in young individuals with anatomical defects without thrombophilia, but further studies will be needed to confirm its efficacy and safety.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Zahid ◽  
Syed Wajih Ul Hassan ◽  
Nida Sehar Bhurya ◽  
Sheena Nadeem Alam ◽  
Bakht Hussain Shah ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Oral anticoagulants are one of the most frequently used medications. However, these drugs have a range of side effects including potential life-threatening complications. Little is known regarding the awareness of its side effect profile amongst the patients in Pakistan. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of oral anticoagulant therapy and its side effects among its users. Results: The mean age was 48.9 ± 15.2 years. Mean scores of the participants for knowledge regarding oral anticoagulants and knowledge specific to warfarin were 49.9 ± 16.2% and 14.6 ± 16.4% respectively. Most notably, the majority of the patients (65.7%) did not know what side effects to be wary of or how to reduce their occurrence; and most of them were unaware of the interaction between oral anticoagulant drugs and over-the-counter substances such as aspirin, herbal medicines and alcohol. Knowledge of International Normalised Ratio (INR) was extremely poor with more than 75% of the population not being aware of the target INR range during warfarin therapy. Higher level of education was significantly associated with better knowledge scores. On the whole, knowledge of oral anticoagulant therapy and INR monitoring is extremely poor among oral anticoagulant users.


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