Prescribing trends of atrial fibrillation patients who switched from warfarin to a direct oral anticoagulant

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

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