Optimizing Stroke Prevention in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of a Computerized Antithrombotic Risk Assessment Tool in Australian General Practice, 2012-2013

Computerized clinical decision support to improve stroke prevention therapy in primary care management of atrial fibrillation: a cluster randomized trial

BACKGROUND

Despite guidelines supporting antithrombotic therapy use in atrial fibrillation (AF), under-prescribing persists. We assessed whether computerized clinical decision support (CDS) would enable guideline-based antithrombotic therapy for AF patients in primary care.

METHODS

This cluster randomized trial of CDS versus usual care (UC) recruited participants from primary care practices across Nova Scotia, following them for 12 months. The CDS tool calculated bleeding and stroke risk scores and provided recommendations for using oral anticoagulants (OAC) per Canadian guidelines.

RESULTS

From June 14, 2014 to December 15, 2016, 203 primary care providers (99 UC, 104 CDS) with access to high-speed Internet were recruited, enrolling 1,145 eligible patients (543 UC, 590 CDS) assigned to the same treatment arm as their provider. Patient mean age was 72.3 years; most were male (350, 64.5% UC, 351, 59.5% CDS) and from a rural area (298, 54.9% UC, 315, 53.4% CDS). At baseline, a higher than anticipated proportion of patients were receiving guideline-based OAC therapy (373, 68.7% UC, 442, 74.9% CDS; relative risk [RR] 0.97 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.87-1.07; P = .511)). At 12 months, prescription data were available for 538 usual care and 570 CDS patients, and significantly more CDS patients were managed according to guidelines (415, 77.1% UC, 479, 84.0% CDS; RR 1.08 (95% CI, 1.01-1.15; P = .024)).

CONCLUSION

Notwithstanding high baseline rates, primary care provider access to the CDS over 12 months further optimized the prescribing of OAC therapy per national guidelines to AF patients potentially eligible to receive it. This suggests that CDS can be effective in improving clinical process of care.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinical Trials NCT01927367. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01927367?term=NCT01927367&draw=2&rank=1.

Clinical decision support systems to optimize adherence to anticoagulant guidelines in patients with atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have been utilized as a low-cost intervention to improve healthcare process measures. Thus, we aim to estimate CDSS efficacy to optimize adherence to oral anticoagulant guidelines in eligible patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

METHODS

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) retrieved from PubMed, WOS, SCOPUS, EMBASE, and CENTRAL through August 2023. We used RevMan V. 5.4 to pool dichotomous data using risk ratio (RR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI).

PROSPERO ID

CRD42023471806.

RESULTS

We included nine RCTs with a total of 25,573 patients. There was no significant difference, with the use of CDSS compared to routine care, in the number of patients prescribed anticoagulants (RR: 1.06, 95% CI [0.98, 1.14], P = 0.16), the number of patients prescribed antiplatelets (RR: 1.01 with 95% CI [0.97, 1.06], P = 0.59), all-cause mortality (RR: 1.19, 95% CI [0.31, 4.50], P = 0.80), major bleeding (RR: 0.84, 95% CI [0.21, 3.45], P = 0.81), and clinically relevant non-major bleeding (RR: 1.05, 95% CI [0.52, 2.16], P = 0.88). However, CDSS was significantly associated with reduced incidence of myocardial infarction (RR: 0.18, 95% CI [0.06, 0.54], P = 0.002) and cerebral or systemic embolic event (RR: 0.11, 95% CI [0.01, 0.83], P = 0.03).

CONCLUSION

We report no significant difference with the use of CDSS compared to routine care in anticoagulant or antiplatelet prescription in eligible patients with AF. CDSS was associated with a reduced incidence of myocardial infarction and cerebral or systemic embolic events.

Electronic alerts for ambulatory patients with atrial fibrillation not prescribed anticoagulation: A randomized, controlled trial (AF-ALERT2)

BACKGROUND

Despite widely available risk stratification tools, safe and effective anticoagulants, and guideline recommendations, anticoagulation for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) is under-prescribed in ambulatory patients. To assess the impact of alert-based computerized decision support (CDS) on anticoagulation prescription in ambulatory patients with AF and high-risk for stroke, we conducted this randomized controlled trial.

METHODS

Patients with AF and CHA₂DS_2-VASc score ≥ 2 who were not prescribed anticoagulation and had a clinic visit at Brigham and Women's Hospital were enrolled. Patients were randomly allocated, according to Attending Physician of record, to intervention (alert-based CDS) versus control (no notification). The primary efficacy outcome was the frequency of anticoagulant prescription.

RESULTS

The CDS tool assigned 395 and 403 patients to the alert and control groups, respectively. Alert patients were more likely to be prescribed anticoagulation within 48 h of the clinic visit (15.4 % vs. 7.7 %, p < 0.001) and at 90 days (17.2 % vs. 9.9 %, p < 0.01). Direct oral anticoagulants were the predominantly prescribed form of anticoagulation. No significant differences were observed in stroke, TIA, or systemic embolic events (0 % vs. 0.8 %, p = 0.09), symptomatic VTE (0.5 % vs. 1 %, p = 0.43), all-cause mortality (2 % vs. 0.7 %, p = 0.12), or major adverse cardiovascular events (2.8 % vs. 2.5 %, p = 0.79) at 90 days.

CONCLUSIONS

An alert-based CDS strategy increased a primary efficacy outcome of anticoagulation in clinic patients with AF and high-risk for stroke who were not receiving anticoagulation at the time of the office visit. The study was likely underpowered to assess an impact on clinical outcomes.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier- NCT02958943.

Improving guideline-based anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation: A systematic literature review of prospective trials

BACKGROUND

Guidelines for anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) aim to decrease the risk of ischemic stroke. However, there is a gap in actual practice between patients who have an indication for anticoagulation and those who are actually prescribed anticoagulation.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to evaluate the efficacy of prior population-based interventions aimed at decreasing this AF anticoagulation gap.

METHODS

This study was prospectively registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews database (CRD42021287875). A systematic literature review was conducted to obtain all prospective individually randomized and cluster randomized trials by searching 4 electronic databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Medline.

RESULTS

After a review of 1474 studies, 20 trials were included in this systematic literature review. Forty-five percent were effective in decreasing the AF anticoagulation gap. Trial interventions that improved anticoagulation prescribing included 6 trials of electronic risk assessment or decision support, 1 trial of provider education, 2 trials of new protocol or pathway, and 2 trials of patient education. Six of 15 ambulatory trials, 2 of 4 inpatient trials, and 1 trial that spanned inpatient and outpatient settings improved anticoagulation prescribing rates. Interventions focused on patient education, provider education, and electronic risk assessment or decision support increased absolute appropriate anticoagulation prescribing by 8.3%, 4.9%, and 2.0%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Interventions aimed at improving anticoagulation prescribing patterns in AF can be effective, although there is heterogeneity in outcomes across intervention type. The most effective interventions appeared to target patient education, provider education, and electronic risk assessment or decision support.

Improving appropriate use of anticoagulants in hospitalised patients: a pharmacist-led Check of Medication Appropriateness intervention

AIM

Inappropriate anticoagulant use increases the risk of bleeding and thrombotic events. We implemented clinical decision rules to promote judicious medication use, as part of the 'Check of Medication Appropriateness' (CMA). The CMA concerns a pharmacist-led review service, targeting potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIPs). In this analysis, we aimed to evaluate the impact of the CMA on anticoagulant prescribing.

METHODS

The number of anticoagulant-related PIPs was evaluated before and after implementation of the intervention in a quasi-experimental interrupted time series analysis. The pre-implementation cohort received usual care. The anticoagulant-focused CMA, comprising 13 clinical rules pertaining to anticoagulation therapies, was implemented in the post-implementation cohort. Segmented regression analysis was used to assess the impact of the intervention on the number of residual PIPs. A residual PIP was defined as a PIP which persisted up to 48h after the CMA intervention. Total number of recommendations and acceptance rate were documented for the 2-year post-implementation period.

RESULTS

Pre-implementation, we observed 501 PIPs in 466 inpatients on 36 days, with a median proportion of 78.5% (range: 46.2%-100%) residual PIPs per day. Post-implementation, 538 PIPs were detected in 485 patients over the same number of days. The CMA intervention reduced the median proportion to 18.2% (range: 0-100%) per day. The effect coincided with an immediate relative reduction of 70% (95%CI 0.19-0.46) in anticoagulant-related residual PIPs. Post-implementation, 2778 recommendations were provided and 75.1% were accepted.

CONCLUSION

Our CMA approach significantly reduced anticoagulant-related PIPs. Implementing a pharmacist-led intervention, based on clinical rules, may support safer prescribing of anticoagulants.

Decision aids for shared decision-making and appropriate anticoagulation therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AIMS

Underuse of oral anticoagulants (OACs) is commonly observed among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), which hinders stroke prevention in AF. Shared decision-making (SDM) can help enhance adherence by minimizing patients' misunderstanding of treatment and aligning care with their preferences. Decision aids (DAs) have been developed to facilitate the SDM process. This study aimed to: (i) evaluate the effects of DAs on AF patients' knowledge, decisional conflict, OAC uptake, and adherence and on the incidence of stroke and bleeding; and (ii) explore characterizing factors associated with enhanced DA effectiveness.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Five databases were searched. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 when data were available. Comparative analysis between effective and ineffective DAs was conducted to determine the DA designs associated with better effects. Ten studies were included. Pooling results indicated that DAs reduce decisional conflict related to warfarin use [mean difference = -0.10; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.18 to -0.02; P = 0.01] and enhance OAC uptake [risk ratio: 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01-1.05; P = 0.004]. The effects of DAs on adherence and incidence of stroke and bleeding were unclear. Comparative analysis revealed that DAs with key elements of SDM (situation diagnosis, choice awareness, option clarification, benefits and disadvantages, and patient's preference) and pre-consultation delivery are more likely to be effective in promoting SDM and OAC uptake.

CONCLUSIONS

DAs are promising in promoting SDM and OAC uptake in patients with AF. The evidence on adherence and incidence of stroke and bleeding remains uncertain. More trials with rigorous study design and longer follow-up are necessary to obtain evidence.

Development and validation of a Screening Tool to Evaluate and Warrant Anticoagulation Treatment prior to Discharge in inpatients with Atrial Fibrillation (STEWARxD-AF)

OBJECTIVE

Anticoagulation is highly effective for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF), reducing the risk by about 64%. Despite overwhelming evidence in support of anticoagulation, up to 40% of AF patients remain untreated. We aimed to develop and validate STEWAR_xD-AF: a Screening Tool to Evaluate and Warrant Anticoagulation Treatment prior to Discharge in Atrial Fibrillation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

STEWAR_xD-AF was developed by integrating information extracted from the electronic health record (EHR). A stepwise decision process was applied, based on AF diagnosis, estimated CHA₂DS₂-VASc-score and anticoagulant use. A priority score was assigned accordingly, ranging from 0 (no risk) to 5 (highest risk of undertreatment). A cross-sectional study was performed to assess the accuracy of STEWAR_xD-AF. Criterion and tool validity were ascertained by determining sensitivity and specificity, compared to a manual check of the EHR in an inpatient sample (n = 800). Consistency regarding the priority score was determined by estimating Cohen's kappa.

RESULTS

A tool to screen for un(der)treated AF was developed and embedded into the EHR. Sensitivity and specificity for AF diagnosis were 98.4% and 87.6%, respectively. Overall sensitivity and specificity for identification of a CHA₂DS₂-VASc-score ≥ 2 was 97.7% and 72.7%. Sensitivity and specificity to determine the presence of anticoagulant treatment was at least 87.8% and 97.1% There was good agreement for the priority score (κ 0.74 (unweighted); 0.66 (weighted)).

CONCLUSIONS

STEWAR_xD-AF was able to identify untreated AF inpatients reliably and with a high sensitivity. Nearly no patients were missed. We will now implement this AF-screening tool in clinical practice to improve the use of anticoagulation and reduce the risk of stroke.

Strategies for improving guideline adherence of anticoagulants for patients with atrial fibrillation in primary healthcare: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Clinical guidelines on atrial fibrillation management help optimize the use of oral anticoagulants. However, guideline non-adherence is common, particularly in the primary care setting. The primary aim of this systematic review was to identify effective strategies for improving adherence to guideline-directed thromboprophylaxis to patients with atrial fibrillation in the primary care setting.

METHODS

A search was conducted on 6 electronic databases (Medline, Embase, ScienceDirect, Scopus, the Cumulative Indexing of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Web of Science) supplemented by a Google advanced search. Studies aimed at improving oral thromboprophylaxis guideline adherence in patients with atrial fibrillation, in the primary care setting, were included in the study.

RESULTS

A total of 33 studies were included in this review. Nine studies employed electronic decision support (EDS), of which 4 reported modest improvements in guideline adherence. Five of 6 studies that utilized local guidelines as quality improvement measures reported improvement in guideline adherence. All 5 studies that employed coordinated care and the use of specialist support and 4 of the 5 studies that involved pharmacist-led interventions reported improvements in guideline adherence. Interventions based mainly on feedback from audits were less effective.

CONCLUSIONS

Multifaceted interventions, especially those incorporating coordinated care and specialist support, pharmacists, or local adaptations to and implementation of national and/or international guidelines appear to be more consistently effective in improving guideline adherence in the primary care setting than interventions based mainly on EDS and feedback from audits.

Alert-based computerized decision support for high-risk hospitalized patients with atrial fibrillation not prescribed anticoagulation: a randomized, controlled trial (AF-ALERT)

AIMS

Despite widely available risk stratification tools, safe and effective anticoagulant options, and guideline recommendations, anticoagulation for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) is underprescribed. We created and evaluated an alert-based computerized decision support (CDS) strategy to increase anticoagulation prescription in hospitalized AF patients at high risk for stroke.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We enrolled 458 patients (CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥1) with AF who were not prescribed anticoagulant therapy and were hospitalized at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Patients were randomly allocated, according to Attending Physician of record, to intervention (alert-based CDS) vs. control (no notification). The primary efficacy outcome was the frequency of anticoagulant prescription. The CDS tool assigned 248 patients to the alert group and 210 to the control group. Patients in the alert group were more likely to be prescribed anticoagulation during the hospitalization (25.8% vs. 9.5%, P < 0.0001), at discharge (23.8% vs. 12.9%, P = 0.003), and at 90 days (27.7% vs. 17.1%, P = 0.007). The alert reduced the odds of a composite outcome of death, myocardial infarction (MI), cerebrovascular event, and systemic embolic event at 90 days [11.3% vs. 21.9%, P = 0.002; odds ratio (OR) 0.45; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.27-0.76]. The alert reduced the odds of MI at 90 days by 87% (1.2% vs. 8.6%, P = 0.0002; OR 0.13; 95% CI 0.04-0.45) and cerebrovascular events or systemic embolism at 90 days by 88% (0% vs. 2.4%, P = 0.02; OR 0.12; 95% CI 0.0-0.91).

CONCLUSION

An alert-based CDS strategy increased anticoagulation in high-risk hospitalized AF patients and reduced major adverse cardiovascular events, including MI and stroke.

CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER

NCT02339493.

Systematic review of novel technology-based interventions for ischemic stroke

PURPOSE

To identify novel technologies pertinent to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of ischemic stroke, and recommend the technologies that show the most promise in advancing ischemic stroke care.

METHOD

A systematic literature search on PubMed and Medscape was performed. Articles were assessed based on pre-determined criteria. Included journal articles were evaluated for specific characteristics and reviewed according to a structured paradigm. A search on www.clinicaltrials.gov was performed to identify pre-clinical ischemic stroke technological interventions. All clinical trial results were included. An additional search on PubMed was conducted to identify studies on robotic neuroendovascular procedures.

RESULTS

Thirty journal articles and five clinical trials were analyzed. Articles were categorized as follows: six studies pertinent to pre-morbidity and prevention of ischemic stroke, three studies relevant to the diagnosis of ischemic stroke, 16 studies about post-ischemic stroke rehabilitation, and five studies on robotic neuroendovascular interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

Novel technologies across the spectrum of ischemic stroke care were identified, and the ones that appear to have the most clinical utility are recommended. Future investigation of the feasibility and long-term efficacy of the recommended technologies in clinical settings is warranted.

Supporting anticoagulant treatment decision making to optimise stroke prevention in complex patients with atrial fibrillation: a cluster randomised trial

Background

Anticoagulation for preventing stroke in atrial fibrillation is under-utilised despite evidence supporting its use, resulting in avoidable death and disability. We aimed to evaluate an intervention to improve the uptake of anticoagulation.

Methods

We carried out a national, cluster randomised controlled trial in the Australian primary health care setting. General practitioners received an educational session, delivered via telephone by a medical peer and provided information about their patients selected either because they were not receiving anticoagulation or for whom anticoagulation was considered challenging. General practitioners were randomised to receive feedback from a medical specialist about the cases (expert decisional support) either before or after completing a post-test audit. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients reported as receiving oral anticoagulation. A secondary outcome assessed antithrombotic treatment as appropriate against guideline recommendations.

Results

One hundred and seventy-nine general practitioners participated in the trial, contributing information about 590 cases. At post-test, 152 general practitioners (84.9%) completed data collection on 497 cases (84.2%). A 4.6% (Adjusted Relative Risk = 1.11, 95% CI = 0.86–1.43) difference in the post-test utilization of anticoagulation between groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.42). Sixty-one percent of patients in both groups received appropriate antithrombotic management according to evidence-based guidelines at post-test (Adjusted Relative Risk = 1.0; 95% CI = 0.85 to 1.19) (p = 0.97).

Conclusions

Specialist feed-back in addition to an educational session did not increase the uptake of anticoagulation in patients with AF.

Trial registration

ANZCTRN12611000076976 Retrospectively registered.

Do computerized clinical decision support systems improve the prescribing of oral anticoagulants? A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Serious adverse drug reactions have been associated with the underuse or the misuse of oral anticoagulant therapy. We systematically reviewed the impact of computerized clinical decision support systems (CDSS) on the prescribing of oral anticoagulants and we described CDSS features associated with success or failure.

METHODS

We searched Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, CINHAL, and PsycINFO for studies that compared CDSS for the initiation or monitoring of oral anticoagulants with routine care. Two reviewers performed study selection, data collection, and risk-of-bias assessment. Disagreements were resolved with a third reviewer. Potentially important CDSS features, identified from previous literature, were evaluated.

RESULTS

Sixteen studies were included in our qualitative synthesis. Most trials were performed in primary care (n = 7) or hospitals (n = 6) and included atrial fibrillation (AF) patients (n = 9). Recommendations mainly focused on anticoagulation underuse (n = 11) and warfarin-drug interactions (n = 5). Most CDSS were integrated in electronic records or prescribing and provided support automatically at the time and location of decision-making. Significant improvements in practitioner performance were found in 9 out of 16 studies, while clinical outcomes were poorly reported. CDSS features seemed slightly more common in studies that demonstrated improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

CDSS might positively impact the use of oral anticoagulants in AF patients at high risk of stroke. The scope of CDSS should now evolve to assist prescribers in selecting the most appropriate and tailored medication. Efforts should nevertheless be made to improve the relevance of notifications and to address implementation outcomes.

Effectiveness of CHA2DS2-VASc based decision support on stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: A cluster randomised trial in general practice

BACKGROUND

Guidelines on atrial fibrillation (AF) recommend the CHA₂DS₂-VASc rule for anticoagulant decision-making, but underuse exists. We studied the impact of an automated decision support on stroke prevention in patients with AF in a cluster randomised trial in general practice.

METHODS

Intervention practices were provided with a CHA₂DS₂-VASc based anticoagulant treatment recommendation. Reference practices provided care as usual. The primary outcome was incidence of ischaemic stroke, transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and/or thromboembolism (TE). Secondary outcomes were bleeding and the proportion of patients on guideline recommended anticoagulant treatment.

RESULTS

In total, 1129 AF patients were included in the 19 intervention practices and 1226 AF patients in the 19 reference practices. The median age was 77 (interquartile range (IQR) 68-75) years, the median CHA₂DS₂-VASc score was 3.0 (IQR 2.0-5.0). Underuse of anticoagulants in patients with CHA₂DS₂-VASc score ≥ 2 was 6.6%. After a median follow-up of 2.7 years (IQR 2.3-3.0), the incidence rate per 100 person-years of ischaemic stroke/TIA/TE was 1.96 in the intervention group and 1.42 in the reference group (hazard ratio (HR) 1.3, 95% C.I. 0.8-2.1). No difference was observed in the rate of bleeding (0.79 versus 0.82), or in the underuse (7.2% versus 8.2%) or overuse (8.0% versus 7.9%) of anticoagulation.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study in patients with AF in general practice, underuse of anticoagulants was relatively low. Providing practitioners with CHA₂DS₂-VASc based decision support did not result in a reduction in stroke incidence, affect bleeding risk or anticoagulant over- or underuse.

Thromboprophylaxis for Patients with High-risk Atrial Fibrillation and Flutter Discharged from the Emergency Department

Introduction

Many patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (AF/FL) who are high risk for ischemic stroke are not receiving evidence-based thromboprophylaxis. We examined anticoagulant prescribing within 30 days of receiving dysrhythmia care for non-valvular AF/FL in the emergency department (ED).

Methods

This prospective study included non-anticoagulated adults at high risk for ischemic stroke (ATRIA score ≥7) who received emergency AF/FL care and were discharged home from seven community EDs between May 2011 and August 2012. We characterized oral anticoagulant prescribing patterns and identified predictors of receiving anticoagulants within 30 days of the index ED visit. We also describe documented reasons for withholding anticoagulation.

Results

Of 312 eligible patients, 128 (41.0%) were prescribed anticoagulation at ED discharge or within 30 days. Independent predictors of anticoagulation included age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.89 per year, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.82–0.96); ED cardiology consultation (aOR 1.89, 95% CI [1.10–3.23]); and failure of sinus restoration by time of ED discharge (aOR 2.65, 95% CI [1.35–5.21]). Reasons for withholding anticoagulation at ED discharge were documented in 139 of 227 cases (61.2%), the most common of which were deferring the shared decision-making process to the patient’s outpatient provider, perceived bleeding risk, patient refusal, and restoration of sinus rhythm.

Conclusion

Approximately 40% of non-anticoagulated AF/FL patients at high risk for stroke who presented for emergency dysrhythmia care were prescribed anticoagulation within 30 days. Physicians were less likely to anticoagulate older patients and those with ED sinus restoration. Opportunities exist to improve rates of thromboprophylaxis in this high-risk population.