Actualización detallada de las guías de la ESC para el manejo de la fibrilación auricular de 2012

Would the Use of Edoxaban Be Cost-effective for the Prevention of Stroke and Systemic Embolism in Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation in Spain?

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

To assess the cost-effectiveness of edoxaban vs acenocoumarol in the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) in Spain.

METHODS

Markov model, adapted to the Spanish setting from the perspective of the National Health System, stimulating the progression of a hypothetical cohort of patients with NVAF throughout their lifetime, with different health states: stroke, haemorrhage, and other cardiovascular complications. Efficacy and safety data were obtained from the available clinical evidence (mainly from the phase III ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48 study). The costs of managing NVAF and its complications were obtained from Spanish sources.

RESULTS

Edoxaban use led to 0.34 additional quality-adjusted life years (QALY) compared with acenocoumarol. The incremental cost with edoxaban was 3916€, mainly because of higher pharmacological costs, which were partially offset by lower costs of treatment monitoring and managing NVAF events and complications. The cost per QALY was 11 518€, within the thresholds commonly considered cost-effective in Spain (25 000-30 000 €/QALY). The robustness of the results was confirmed by various sensitivity analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Edoxaban is a cost-effective alternative to acenocoumarol in the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with NVAF in Spain.

Assessment of anticoagulation treatments in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients diagnosed in a basic health area

INTRODUCTION

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia. To assess the need for anticoagulation is essential for its management. Our objective was to investigate whether the indication of anticoagulation was adequate in patients diagnosed with non-valvular AF, given the CHA2-DS2-VASc scale, measuring the International Normalizad Ratio range (INR) in patients treated with anti-vitamin K drugs.

METHODS

This is an observational and cross sectional study. 232 patients with atrial fibrillation were included. We analyzed demographic, the CHA2-DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED variables, the treatment and INR values for 6 consequentive months. The confrontation of variables was performed using chi-square and Mantel-Haenzel test.

RESULTS

The prevalence of AF was 1.05%. The 88.4% had CHA2-DS2-VASc ≥ 2. The 71.1% were taking anticoagulants, of which 58.2% were under antivitamin k. The 46.7% of patients taking antivitamin K, presented inadequate range of INR. There was a greater prescription of antivitamin k in patients with persistent or permanent AF compared to the paroxysmal form (62.8 vs. 37.2% p<.001). The use of drugs that increase bleeding was associated with a worse control of INR after adjustment for the main variables of clinical relevance (odds ratio 2.17 [1.02-4.59], p=.043).

CONCLUSIONS

The level of anticoagulation with antivitamin K was inadequate in our sample, despite a proper follow up and adherence to treatment. Patients with paroxysmal AF received less antivitamin K than those with persistent/permanent AF.