A Patient Decision Aid for Anticoagulation Therapy in Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation: Development and Pilot Study

Lessons Learned From Shared Decision-Making With Oral Anticoagulants: Viewpoint on Suggestions for the Development of Oral Chemotherapy Decision Aids

Oral chemotherapy is commonly prescribed, and by using decision aids (DAs), clinicians can facilitate shared decision-making (SDM) to align treatment choices with patient goals and values. Although products exist commercially, little evidence informs the development of DAs targeting the unique challenges of oral chemotherapy. To address this gap in the literature, our objective was to review DAs developed for oral anticoagulation, DA use in oncology, and patient preference surveys to guide the development of DAs for oral chemotherapy. We focused on reviewing SDM, patient preferences, and specifically the development, efficacy, and patient experience of DAs in oral anticoagulation and oncologic conditions, ultimately including conclusions and data from 30 peer-reviewed publications in our viewpoint paper. We found that effective DAs in oral anticoagulation improved knowledge, lowered decisional conflict, increased adherence, and covered a broad range of SDM elements; however, limited information on patient experience was a common shortcoming. In oncology, DAs increased knowledge and aligned decisions with the values of the patients. Ineffective oncology DAs provided general, unclear, or overly optimistic information, while providing "too much" information was not shown to do harm. Patients preferred DAs that included pros and cons, side effects, questions to ask, and expected quality of life changes. In developing DAs for oral chemotherapy, patients should be included in the development process, and DA content should be specifically tailored to patient preferences. Providing DAs ahead of appointments proved more effective than during, and additional considerations included addressing barriers to efficacy. There is a need for evidence-based DAs to facilitate SDM for patients considering oral chemotherapy. Developers should use data from studies in oral anticoagulation, oncology, and preference surveys to optimize SDM.

Use of digital patient decision-support tools for atrial fibrillation treatments: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of digital patient decision-support tools for atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment decisions in adults with AF.

STUDY DESIGN

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Eligible randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluated digital patient decision-support tools for AF treatment decisions in adults with AF.

INFORMATION SOURCES

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Scopus from 2005 to 2023.Risk-of-bias (RoB) assessment: We assessed RoB using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2 for RCTs and cluster RCT and the ROBINS-I tool for quasi-experimental studies.

SYNTHESIS OF RESULTS

We used random effects meta-analysis to synthesise decisional conflict and patient knowledge outcomes reported in RCTs. We performed narrative synthesis for all outcomes. The main outcomes of interest were decisional conflict and patient knowledge.

RESULTS

13 articles, reporting on 11 studies (4 RCTs, 1 cluster RCT and 6 quasi-experimental) met the inclusion criteria. There were 2714 participants across all studies (2372 in RCTs), of which 26% were women and the mean age was 71 years. Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups were poorly represented in the included studies. Seven studies (n=2508) focused on non-valvular AF and the mean CHAD2DS2-VASc across studies was 3.2 and for HAS-BLED 1.9. All tools focused on decisions regarding thromboembolic stroke prevention and most enabled calculation of individualised stroke risk. Tools were heterogeneous in features and functions; four tools were patient decision aids. The readability of content was reported in one study. Meta-analyses showed a reduction in decisional conflict (4 RCTs (n=2167); standardised mean difference -0.19; 95% CI -0.30 to -0.08; p=0.001; I2=26.5%; moderate certainty evidence) corresponding to a decrease in 12.4 units on a scale of 0 to 100 (95% CI -19.5 to -5.2) and improvement in patient knowledge (2 RCTs (n=1057); risk difference 0.72, 95% CI 0.68, 0.76, p<0.001; I2=0%; low certainty evidence) favouring digital patient decision-support tools compared with usual care. Four of the 11 tools were publicly available and 3 had been implemented in healthcare delivery.

CONCLUSIONS

In the context of stroke prevention in AF, digital patient decision-support tools likely reduce decisional conflict and may result in little to no change in patient knowledge, compared with usual care. Future studies should leverage digital capabilities for increased personalisation and interactivity of the tools, with better consideration of health literacy and equity aspects. Additional robust trials and implementation studies are warranted.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42020218025.

Comparison of anticoagulation control and outcomes between usual medical care and pharmacist-led anticoagulation service in ambulatory patients taking warfarin at tertiary hospital in Ethiopia: a quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

We aimed to compare anticoagulation control and outcomes between usual medical care (UMC) and pharmacist-led anticoagulation services (PLAS) in patients receiving warfarin at the Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental study was conducted, including 350 (66.7%) and 175 (33.3%) patients from the UMC and PLAS groups, respectively, from 525 patients. The time in therapeutic range (TTR) was determined using the Rosendaal method, with a TTR ≥ 65% set as the cut-off for optimal anticoagulation. The two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney U) test was used to compare continuous variables between groups. Categorical variables were compared between groups using Pearson's chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Logistic regression and negative binomial regression analyses were conducted to identify the factors associated with suboptimal TTR and secondary outcomes, respectively, at the p values < 0.05, and 95% confidence interval (CI).

RESULTS

Compared with the UMC group, the patients in the PLAC group showed a significantly higher median (IQR) TTR [60.89% (43.5-74.69%) vs. 53.65% (33.92-69.14%), p < 0.001]. A significantly higher optimal TTR (≥ 65%) was achieved in the PLAC group (41.7% vs. 31.7%) than in the UMC group (p = 0.002). The odds of having a poor TTR were reduced by 43% (AOR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.36-0.88, p = 0.01) among patients in the PLAC group compared to those in the UMC group. There were no statistically significant differences in the secondary outcomes between the groups, except for all-cause emergency visits (p = 0.003). The incidence of bleeding events decreased by 3% (IRR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.96-0.99, p < 0.001) for every increase in INR monitoring frequency. The incidence of thromboembolic events increased by a factor of 15.13 (IRR = 15.13, 95% CI = 1.47-155.52, p = 0.02) among patients with a high-risk CHA2DS2-VASc score compared with those with a moderate score.

CONCLUSION

Patients in the PLAC group had a significantly higher median TTR than those in the UMC group did. There were no statistically significant differences in the secondary outcomes between the groups, except for fewer all-cause emergency department visits in the PLAC group.

Anticoagulation Management in Patients Receiving Warfarin at Private Cardiac Centers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Introduction

Anticoagulants are the cornerstone therapy for thromboembolism prevention and treatment. Warfarin is the frequently prescribed drug and remains the oral anticoagulant of choice in low- and middle-income countries, including Ethiopia. It is a narrow therapeutic index drug that needs high-quality anticoagulation monitoring with frequent international normalization ratio (INR) testing.

Objective

The study aimed to assess anticoagulation management with warfarin among adult outpatients at two selected private cardiac centers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods

A hospital-based retrospective study design that enrolled 374 patients receiving warfarin was employed at two private cardiac centres in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The time in the therapeutic range (TTR) was calculated using the Rosendaal method. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 25.

Results

The mean age of the patients was 57 years, and 218 (58.3%) participants were females. Out of 3384 INR tests, 1562 (46.5%) were within the therapeutic range and the mean percentage of TTR was 47.24%. Only 25.67% of the patients spent their TTR ≥ 65%. The present study revealed that dose adjustments were required 1764 times. In non-therapeutic INR values of 1764 that required warfarin dose adjustment, 59.7% of the doses were adjusted. About 262 (70.1%) of co-prescribed medications had interaction with warfarin. Sixty-four patients (17.11%) experienced bleeding events.

Conclusion

Anticoagulation management with warfarin was suboptimal in private cardiac Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, private cardiac centers. Warfarin adjustment practice for nontherapeutic INR values was not minimal, and many patients encountered bleeding during their course of therapy.

Smartphone applications managing antithrombotic therapy: a scoping literature review (Preprint)

Background

Antithrombotic therapy is complex and requires informed decisions and high therapy adherence. Several mobile phone apps exist to either support physicians in the management of antithrombotic therapies or to educate and support patients. For the majority of these apps, both their medical evidence and their development background are unknown.

Objective

This review aims to investigate the available literature describing high-quality apps for managing antithrombotic therapy based on professional scientific information.

Methods

Keywords and Medical Subject Heading terms were used to search MEDLINE via PubMed and Ovid between December 2019 and January 2022. Inclusion criteria were the availability of full text and publications in the English language. Apps that solely focused on atrial fibrillation were excluded. Qualitative findings were thematically synthesized and reported narratively.

Results

Out of 149 identified records, 32 were classified as eligible. We identified four groups: (1) apps for patients supporting self-management of vitamin K antagonists, (2) apps for patients increasing therapy adherence, (3) educational apps for patients, and (4) apps for physicians in supporting guideline adherence.

Conclusions

Throughout the evaluated data, patients from all age groups receiving antithrombotic drugs expressed the desire for a digital tool that could support their therapy management. In addition, physicians using mobile guideline-based apps may have contributed to decreased adverse event rates among their patients. In general, digital apps encompassing both user-friendly designs and scientific backgrounds may enhance the safety of antithrombotic therapies. However, our evaluation did not identify any apps that addressed all antithrombotic drugs in combination with perioperative stratification strategies. Currently, strict regulations for smartphone apps seem to negatively affect the development of new apps. Therefore, new legal policies for medical digital apps are urgently needed.