Anticoagulation management in clinical practice: preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation

The Effect of Anticoagulation and Antiplatelet Use in Trauma Patients on Mortality and Length of Stay

BACKGROUND

Though many trauma patients are on anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy (AAT), there are few generalizable data on the risks for these patients. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of anticoagulation (AC) and antiplatelet (AP) therapy on mortality and length of stay (LOS) in general trauma patients.

METHODS

A retrospective review was performed of patients in the institutional trauma registry during 2019 to determine AAT use on admission and discharge. Outcomes were compared using standard statistics.

RESULTS

Of 2261 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 2 were excluded due to an incomplete medication reconciliation, resulting in 2259 patients. Patients on AAT had a higher mortality (4.5% vs 2.1%). On multivariable analysis, preadmission AC (odds ratio OR, 3.325, P = .001), age (OR 1.040, P < .001), and injury severity score ((ISS) 1.094, P < .001) were associated with mortality. Anticoagulation use was also associated with longer LOS on multivariable analysis (OR: 1.626, P = .005). Antiplatelet use was not associated with higher mortality or longer LOS. More patients on AAT were unable to be discharged home. However, patients on AAT did not have a greater blood transfusion requirement or need more hemorrhage control procedures. Lastly, 23.7% of patients on preadmission AAT were not discharged on any AAT.

DISCUSSION

These data demonstrate that patients on AC, but not AP, have greater mortality and longer hospital LOS. This may provide guidance for those being newly started on AAT. Further work to determine which patients benefit most from restarting AAT would lead to improvement in the care of trauma patients.

Factors Associated With High-Quality Guidelines for the Pharmacologic Management of Chronic Diseases in Primary Care: A Systematic Review

IMPORTANCE

As the rate of publication of new and sometimes conflicting medical research increases, clinicians rely heavily on clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) to inform practice. However, CPGs are of widely variable quality, and there are no existing objective measures to rate the quality of CPGs.

OBJECTIVE

To systematically assess 421 CPGs for the management of common noncommunicable diseases in primary care using the validated Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation Instrument, version II (AGREE-II) tool and elucidate the factors associated with quality of CPGs.

EVIDENCE REVIEW

MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and 12 websites for CPGs were searched for CPGs for the management of common noncommunicable diseases in primary care published between January 1, 2011, and August 30, 2017. The assessment of the quality of CPGs was performed by 3 appraisers using the 6 domains of the AGREE-II instrument. A multiple logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with quality of CPGs.

FINDINGS

Of the 421 CPGs reviewed, 23.5% (99) were classified as high quality. Among included guidelines, clarity of presentation (70%) and scope and purpose (61%) had the highest median AGREE-II scores. The domains with the lowest median scores were applicability (22%) and rigor of development (33%). Factors associated with high-quality CPGs included having more than 20 authors (odds ratio, 9.08; 95% CI, 3.35-24.62), development at governmental institutions (odds ratio, 10.38; 95% CI, 2.72-39.60), and reporting funding (odds ratio, 10.34; 95% CI, 4.77-22.39). Year of publication, region, guideline version, and scope were not associated with quality among included CPGs.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Primary care professionals and policymakers should be aware that CPGs in primary care are of widely variable quality, with less than 25% of included CPGs rated as high quality. High-quality CPGs were associated with a higher number of authors, governmental institutions, and the report of funding. Region of origin was not associated with quality of CPGs, which suggests that the improvement of the quality of CPGs should be an international concern.

Safest Time to Resume Oral Anticoagulation in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury

OBJECTIVE

 There is no standard protocol to guide the optimal time to resume anti-clotting agents after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in patients with a continued indication for anticoagulation/antiplatelet therapy (AAT). This study develops baseline data supporting a future prospective cohort study. We predict that there will be significantly decreased adverse events when AAT is started on or after Day 7.

METHODS

 A retrospective chart review of 256 patients was performed. Patients admitted to a level I trauma center in West Texas between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2012, on anti-clotting agents (specifically acetylsalicylic acid, coumadin, and/or clopidogrel) and who suffered a TBI were included. Patient metrics included admission coagulation studies, type of TBI and treatment, and time to continuation of AAT. Outcomes were assessed using follow-up appointment data. The primary outcome was death (mortality). Secondary outcomes included myocardial infarction, stroke, re-bleed, venous thromboembolism, and pneumonia.

RESULTS

A total of 256 patients met the inclusion criteria. However, only 85 patients on AAT presented for the six-month follow-up. Time to AAT resumption varied from immediate to 31 days. Out of the 85 patients, 32 patients never resumed AAT, 32 patients were restarted on AAT medication in less than seven days, 10 patients restarted medication between seven and 14 days, and 11 patients restarted AAT in more than 14 days. Adverse events occurred most infrequently in the AAT group resuming therapy between seven and 14 days (10%). Adverse events were most prevalent in the AAT group that never resumed therapy (68.8%).

CONCLUSION

 While most studies suggest that the safest time for resuming AAT lies between three and 10 days, our study revealed that adverse events were minimized in patients on AAT between seven and 9.5 days.

New oral anticoagulants in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation: a review of pharmacokinetics, safety, efficacy, quality of life, and cost effectiveness

Atrial fibrillation (AF) continues to be a leading cause of cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality resulting from cardioembolic stroke. Oral anticoagulation therapy has been shown to decrease the incidence of cardioembolic stroke in patients with AF by more than 50%. Appropriate use of anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists requires precise adherence and monitoring. A number of factors that potentially induce patients’ dissatisfaction reduce quality of patient life. New direct oral anticoagulants, such as the direct factor Xa inhibitors rivaroxaban, apixaban, edoxaban, and the thrombin inhibitor dabigatran, were developed to overcome the limitations of the conventional anticoagulant drugs. However, models to optimize the benefit of therapy and to ensure that therapy can be safely continued are missing for the new oral anticoagulants. This review will briefly describe the new oral anticoagulants dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, and edoxaban with focus on their use for prevention of embolic events in AF. Moreover, it will discuss the safety, efficacy, cost data, and benefit for patients’ quality of life and adherence.

Recent Publications on Medications and Pharmacy

Hospital Pharmacy presents this feature to keep pharmacists abreast of new publications in the medical/pharmacy literature. Articles of interest regarding a broad scope of topics are abstracted monthly.