Anticoagulant Utilization and Direct Oral Anticoagulant Prescribing in Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation

ABSTRACTBackground: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are indicated for prevention of stroke and embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). These agents have been shown to be non-inferior to warfarin in terms of efficacy and safety. However, their uptake in practice has been variable, and prescribed dosages may be inconsistent with manufacturer recommendations.Objectives: To evaluate patterns of oral anticoagulant use in patients with NVAF, including determination of patient characteristics associated with the prescribing of warfarin or DOACs and whether prescribed dosages of DOACs were concordant with manufacturer recommendations.Methods: This retrospective chart review was conducted from April to September 2017 at Abbotsford Regional Hospital, Abbotsford, British Columbia. Patients at least 18 years of age with NVAF and CHADS-65 score of 1 or higher were included. Patients with contraindications to oral anticoagulants, those with reversible atrial fibrillation, and those undergoing renal dialysis were excluded. The dosage of DOACs was categorized as too low, too high, or correct in relation to manufacturer recommendations for the Canadian product. Results: A total of 120 patients were included. At discharge, 83 (69%) of the patients had a prescription for DOAC, 25 (21%) had a prescription for warfarin, and 12 (10%) had no prescription for an oral anticoagulant. There were no statistically significant differences between the warfarin and DOAC groups with respect to patient characteristics. Among the 56 patients for whom a full DOAC dose was indicated, 7 (13%) received a dose that was too low. Among the 23 patients for whom a full DOAC dose was not indicated, 4 (17%) received a dose that was too high. Conclusions: At the study hospital, most patients with NVAF and CHADS-65 score of at least 1 had a discharge prescription for DOAC. Patient characteristics appeared to be similar between the warfarin and DOAC groups. For a notable proportion of patients who received a DOAC, the dosage was incorrect. Appropriate prescribing of oral anticoagulants could be further improved by education for prescribers and involvement of hospital pharmacists.RÉSUMÉContexte : Les anticoagulants oraux directs (AOD) sont indiqués pour prévenir les AVC et les embolies parmi les patients atteints de fibrillation auriculaire non valvulaire (FANV). Il a été démontré que l’efficacité et l’innocuité de ces agents n’étaient pas inférieures à la warfarine. Cependant, leur adoption dans la pratique est inégale, et les doses prescrites peuvent être contraires aux recommandations des fabricants.Objectifs : Évaluation des habitudes d’utilisation des anticoagulants oraux pour les patients atteints de FANV, y compris la définition des caractéristiques des patients associées à la prescription de la warfarine ou des AOD, ainsi que de la conformité des doses prescrites de ces derniers aux recommandations des fabricants.Méthodes : Cet examen rétrospectif des dossiers a été mené d’avril à septembre 2017 à l’Hôpital régional d’Abbotsford à Abbotsford, en Colombie-Britannique. Des patients âgés d’au moins 18 ans, atteints de FANV et ayant un score CHADS-65 d’au moins 1, ont été inclus dans l’étude. Les patients présentant une contre-indication aux anticoagulants oraux, ceux atteints de fibrillation auriculaire réversible et ceux soumis à une dialyse rénale en ont été exclus. La dose d’AOD destinés au marché canadien a été catégorisée comme trop faible, trop élevée ou correcte par rapport aux recommandations du fabricant.Résultats : Cent-vingt patients au total ont participé à l’étude. Au moment du congé, 83 (69 %) d’entre eux avaient une prescription d’AOD, 25 (21 %) avaient une prescription de warfarine et 12 (10 %) n’avaient pas de prescription d’anticoagulant oral. En ce qui concerne les caractéristiques des patients, il n’y avait aucune différence statistique notable entre les groupes ayant reçu une prescription de warfarine et ceux ayant reçu une prescription d’AOD. Des 56 patients qui avaient reçu une indication de dose complète d’AOD, sept (13 %) ont reçu une dose trop faible. Des 23 patients qui n’avaient pas reçu d’indication de dose complète d’AOD, quatre (17 %) ont reçu une dose trop élevée.Conclusions : À l’hôpital où s’est déroulée l’étude, la plupart des patients atteints de FANV et ceux ayant un score CHADS-65 d’au moins 1 recevaient une prescription d’AOD au moment du congé. Les caractéris-tiques des patients semblaient similaires entre les groupes ayant reçu une prescription de warfarine et ceux ayant reçu une prescription d’AOD. La dose d’AOD reçue par une proportion notable de patients était incorrecte. La prescription appropriée d’anticoagulants oraux pourrait encore être améliorée si on sensibilisait les prescripteurs avec la collaboration des pharmaciens d’hôpitaux.

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Switching to Another Oral Anticoagulant and Drug Discontinuation Among Elderly Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation Treated With Different Direct Oral Anticoagulants

Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis ◽

10.1177/1076029619870249 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 ◽

pp. 107602961987024 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Christine L. Baker ◽

Amol D. Dhamane ◽

Jigar Rajpura ◽

Jack Mardekian ◽

Oluwaseyi Dina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Elderly Patients ◽

Oral Anticoagulant ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Direct Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Drug Discontinuation ◽

Research Database ◽

Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Study Population

We compared the risks of switching to another oral anticoagulant (OAC) and discontinuation of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) among elderly patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) who were prescribed rivaroxaban or dabigatran versus apixaban. Patients (≥65 years of age) with NVAF prescribed DOACs (January 1, 2013 to September 30, 2017) were identified from the Humana research database and grouped into DOAC cohorts. Cox regression analyses were used to evaluate whether the risk for switching to another OAC or discontinuing index DOACs differed among cohorts. Of the study population (N = 38 250), 55.9% were prescribed apixaban (mean age: 78.6 years; 49.8% female), 37.3% rivaroxaban (mean age: 77.4 years; 46.7% female), and 6.8% dabigatran (mean age: 77.0 years; 44.0% female). Compared to patients prescribed apixaban, patients prescribed rivaroxaban (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.92-2.25; P < .001) or dabigatran (HR: 3.74; 95% CI, 3.35-4.18, P < .001) had a significantly higher risk of switching to another OAC during the follow-up; compared to patients prescribed apixaban, the risks of discontinuation were also higher for patients treated with rivaroxaban (HR: 1.10; 95% CI, 1.07-1.13, P < .001) or dabigatran (HR: 1.29; 95% CI, 1.23-1.35, P < .001).

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Comparative Safety and Effectiveness of Oral Anticoagulants in Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation

Stroke ◽

10.1161/strokeaha.120.028825 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (7) ◽

pp. 2066-2075 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Eric Van Ganse ◽

Nicolas Danchin ◽

Isabelle Mahé ◽

Olivier Hanon ◽

Flore Jacoud ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Major Bleeding ◽

Oral Anticoagulant ◽

Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Direct Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Large Population ◽

National Health System ◽

Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Safety Effectiveness

Background and Purpose: The effects of direct oral anticoagulants in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation should be assessed in actual conditions of use. France has near-universal healthcare coverage with a unified healthcare information system, allowing large population-based analyses. NAXOS (Evaluation of Apixaban in Stroke and Systemic Embolism Prevention in Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation) aimed to compare the safety, effectiveness, and mortality of apixaban with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), rivaroxaban, and dabigatran, in oral anticoagulant-naive patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Methods: This was an observational study using French National Health System claims data and including all adults with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation who initiated oral anticoagulant between 2014 and 2016. Outcomes of interest were major bleeding events leading to hospitalization (safety), stroke and systemic thromboembolic events (effectiveness), and all-cause mortality. Four approaches were used for comparative analyses: matching on propensity score (PS; 1:n); as a sensitivity analysis, matching on high-dimensional PS; adjustment on PS; and adjustment on known confounders. For each outcome, cumulative incidence rates accounting for competing risks of death were estimated. Results: Overall, 321 501 patients were analyzed, of whom 35.0%, 27.2%, 31.1%, and 6.6% initiated VKAs, apixaban, rivaroxaban, and dabigatran, respectively. Apixaban was associated with a lower PS–matched risk of major bleeding compared with VKAs (hazard ratio [HR], 0.43 [95% CI, 0.40–0.46]) and rivaroxaban (HR, 0.67 [95% CI, 0.63–0.72]), but not dabigatran (HR, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.81–1.08]). Apixaban was associated with a lower risk of stroke and systemic thromboembolic event compared with VKAs (HR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.56–0.65]), but not rivaroxaban (HR, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.97–1.15]) or dabigatran (HR, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.78–1.11]). All-cause mortality was lower with apixaban than with VKAs, but not lower than with rivaroxaban or dabigatran. Conclusions: Apixaban was associated with superior safety, effectiveness, and lower mortality than VKAs; with superior safety than rivaroxaban and similar safety to dabigatran; and with similar effectiveness when compared with rivaroxaban or dabigatran. These observational data suggest potentially important differences in outcomes between direct oral anticoagulants, which should be explored in randomized trials.

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Comparing Warfarin and 4 Direct Oral Anticoagulants for the Risk of Dementia in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Stroke ◽

10.1161/strokeaha.120.033338 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

So-Ryoung Lee ◽

Eue-Keun Choi ◽

Sang-Hyun Park ◽

Jin-Hyung Jung ◽

Kyung-Do Han ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Vascular Dementia ◽

Oral Anticoagulant ◽

Lower Risk ◽

Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Direct Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Weighting Method ◽

Alzheimer Dementia

Background and Purpose: Atrial fibrillation is a risk factor for dementia, and oral anticoagulant use is associated with a decreased risk of dementia in patients with atrial fibrillation. We aimed to investigate whether the risk of dementia would be different between patients treated with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) compared with those with warfarin. Methods: Using the Korean nationwide claims database from January 2014 to December 2017, we identified oral anticoagulant–naive nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients aged ≥40 years. For the comparisons, warfarin and DOAC groups were balanced using the inverse probability of treatment weighting method. The primary outcome was incident dementia. Results: Among 72 846 of total study patients, 25 948 were treated with warfarin, and 46 898 were treated with DOAC (17 193 with rivaroxaban, 9882 with dabigatran, 11 992 with apixaban, and 7831 with edoxaban). During mean 1.3±1.1 years of follow-up, crude incidence of dementia was 4.87 per 100 person-years (1.20 per 100 person-years for vascular dementia and 3.30 per 100 person-years for Alzheimer dementia). Compared with warfarin, DOAC showed a comparable risks of dementia, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer dementia. In subgroup analyses, DOAC was associated with a lower risk of dementia than warfarin, particularly in patients aged 65 to 74 years (hazard ratio, 0.815 [95% CI, 0.709–0.936]) and in patients with prior stroke (hazard ratio, 0.891 [95% CI, 0.820–0.968]). When comparing individual DOACs with warfarin, edoxaban was associated with a lower risk of dementia (hazard ratio, 0.830 [95% CI, 0.740–0.931]). Conclusions: In this large Asian population with atrial fibrillation, DOAC showed a comparable risk of dementia with warfarin overall. DOACs appeared more beneficial than warfarin, in those aged 65 to 74 years or with a history of stroke. For specific DOACs, only edoxaban was associated with a lower risk of dementia than warfarin.

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DIRECT ORAL ANTICOAGULANTS AND WARFARIN: EFFECTIVENESS AND SAFETY OUTCOMES AMONG NONVALVULAR ATRIAL FIBRILLATION PATIENTS WITH MULTIMORBIDITY

Journal of the American College of Cardiology ◽

10.1016/s0735-1097(21)02859-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 77 (18) ◽

pp. 1501

Author(s):

Amol Dhamane ◽

Mauricio Ferri ◽

Allison Keshishian ◽

Cristina Russ ◽

Ruth Thomas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Direct Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Safety Outcomes

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Effect of Renal Function on Dosing of Non–Vitamin K Antagonist Direct Oral Anticoagulants Among Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation

Annals of Pharmacotherapy ◽

10.1177/1060028017728295 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 52 (2) ◽

pp. 147-153 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Sulena Shrestha ◽

Onur Baser ◽

Winghan Jacqueline Kwong

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Renal Function ◽

Vitamin K ◽

Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Direct Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Vitamin K Antagonist ◽

Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation

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Position Document on the Use of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation

10.7775/rac.v89.i1.19630 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 89 (1) ◽

pp. 50-51

Author(s):

Alejandro Hershson ◽

Eduardo Perna

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Direct Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation

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Abstract 210: Rates of Drug Switching and Discontinuation among Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation Elderly Patients Treated with Direct Oral Anticoagulants in the US

Circulation Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes ◽

10.1161/hcq.12.suppl_1.210 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Christine L Baker ◽

Amol D Dhamane ◽

Jigar Rajpura ◽

Jack Mardekian ◽

Oluwaseyi Dina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Elderly Patients ◽

Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Direct Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Drug Switching ◽

The Us

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Direct Oral Anticoagulants in Atrial Fibrillation Patients With Concomitant Hyperthyroidism

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism ◽

10.1210/clinem/dgaa050 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 105 (9) ◽

pp. 2893-2904

Author(s):

Yi-Hsin Chan ◽

Lung-Sheng Wu ◽

Lai-Chu See ◽

Jia-Rou Liu ◽

Shang-Hung Chang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Major Bleeding ◽

Lower Risk ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Direct Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Study Groups ◽

Research Database ◽

Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Asian Patients

Abstract Objective Patients with hyperthyroidism were excluded from the randomized clinical trials of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Methods We performed a nationwide retrospective cohort study using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. We enrolled 3213 and 1181 NVAF patients with hyperthyroidism who were taking DOACs and warfarin, respectively, from June 1, 2012 to December 31, 2017. We also enrolled 53 591 and 16 564 NVAF patients without hyperthyroidism, taking DOACs and warfarin, respectively. We used propensity score stabilized weights (PSSWs) to balance covariates across the study groups. We also used 1:4 matching on both taking DOACs, with (n = 3213) and without hyperthyroidism (n = 12 852); and both taking warfarin, with (n = 1181) and without hyperthyroidism (n = 4724). Results After PSSW, DOAC had a comparable risk of ischemic stroke/systemic embolism (IS/SE) and a lower risk of major bleeding (hazard ratio [HR] 0.65; 95% confidential interval [CI], 0.44–0.96; P = 0.0295) than warfarin among patients with hyperthyroidism. There were comparable risks of IS/SE and major bleeding between those patients with and without hyperthyroidism. However, among patients taking warfarin, those with hyperthyroidism had a lower risk of IS/SE than those without hyperthyroidism (HR 0.61; 95% CI, 0.43–0.86; P = 0.0050). Conclusion Among NVAF Asian patients with concomitant hyperthyroidism, DOACs may be an effective and safer alternative to warfarin. Thromboprophylaxis with DOACs may be considered for such patients, and it is important to validate this finding in further prospective study.

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The Combination of Oral Anticoagulant and Antiplatelet Therapies: Stay One Step Ahead

Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics ◽

10.1177/1074248420923528 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (5) ◽

pp. 391-398

Author(s):

Fabiana Lucà ◽

Simona Giubilato ◽

Stefania Angela Di Fusco ◽

Angelo Leone ◽

Stefano Poli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Venous Thromboembolism ◽

Antiplatelet Therapy ◽

Oral Anticoagulant ◽

Acute Coronary Syndromes ◽

Vitamin K Antagonists ◽

Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Direct Oral Anticoagulants ◽

Clinical Scenarios ◽

Coronary Syndromes

Antithrombotic drugs, which include antiplatelets and anticoagulants, are effective in prevention and treatment of many cardiovascular disorders such as acute coronary syndromes, stroke, and venous thromboembolism and are among the drugs most commonly prescribed worldwide. The advent of direct oral anticoagulants, which are safer alternatives to vitamin K antagonists and do not require laboratory monitoring, has revolutionized the treatment of nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism. The combination of oral anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy is required in many conditions of great clinical impact such as the coexistence of atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease, with indication to percutaneous coronary intervention. However, strategies that combine anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapies lead to a significant increase in bleeding rates and it is crucial to find the right combination in the single patient in order to optimize the ischemic and bleeding risk. The aim of this review is to explore the evidence and controversies regarding the optimal combination of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy through the consideration of past dogmas and new perspectives from recent clinical trials and to propose a tailored therapeutic approach, according to specific clinical scenarios and individual patient characteristics. In particular, we separately explored the clinical settings of stable and acute coronary syndromes and percutaneous revascularization in patients with atrial fibrillation.

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