Prescribing trends of atrial fibrillation patients who switched from warfarin to a direct oral anticoagulant.
Recommended Citation
Hale ZD, Kong X, Haymart B, Gu X, Kline-Rogers E, Almany S, Kozlowski J, Krol GD, Kaatz S, Froehlich JB, and Barnes GD. Prescribing trends of atrial fibrillation patients who switched from warfarin to a direct oral anticoagulant J Thromb Thrombolysis 2017; 43(2):283-288
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2017
Publication Title
Journal of thrombosis and thrombolysis
Abstract
Direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) agents offer several lifestyle and therapeutic advantages for patients relative to warfarin in the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). These alternative agents are increasingly used in the treatment of AF, however the adoption practices, patient profiles, and reasons for switching to a DOAC from warfarin have not been well studied. Through the Michigan Anticoagulation Quality Improvement Initiative, abstracted data from 3873 AF patients, enrolled between 2010 and 2015, were collected on demographics and comorbid conditions, stroke and bleeding risk scores, and reasons for anticoagulant switching. Over the study period, patients who switched from warfarin to a DOAC had similar baseline characteristics, risk scores, and insurance status but differed in baseline CrCl. The most common reasons for switching were patient related ease of use concerns (37.5%) as opposed to clinical reasons (16.5% of patients). Only 13% of patients that switched to a DOAC switched back to warfarin by the end of the study period.
Medical Subject Headings
Administration, Oral; Aged; Anticoagulants; Atrial Fibrillation; Drug Substitution; Female; Humans; Insurance Coverage; Male; Risk Factors; Warfarin
PubMed ID
27837309
Volume
43
Issue
2
First Page
283
Last Page
288
