Drugs Aging. 2023 Feb 23. doi: 10.1007/s40266-023-01006-8. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Antiplatelet therapy, when prescribed in combination with anticoagulant therapy to older patients with atrial fibrillation and no recent cardiovascular event, is inappropriate and a reversible risk factor of major bleeding. We aimed to assess the trend over time of the prevalence of inappropriate combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy and to determine its associated factors during the direct oral anticoagulant era.
METHODS: This was a study of consecutive older patients (age ≥ 75 years) with atrial fibrillation, receiving anticoagulant therapy upon admission, and undergoing a comprehensive geriatric assessment during their first admission in a Belgian teaching hospital between 2009 and 2018. Antiplatelet therapy was considered inappropriate in the absence of a recent cardiovascular event. We studied the prevalence of inappropriate combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy by 2-year periods and assessed its associated factors since the year 2013.
RESULTS: Inappropriate combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy was identified in 21% of the 654 patients (median age 84 years, 51% women), with a prevalence decreasing (p ≤ 0.01) from 25% (2009-10) to 14.8% (2017-18). Among the 469 patients recruited during the direct oral anticoagulant era, inappropriate combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy (19%) was associated in a multivariable analysis with a history of stroke/transient ischemic attack (odds ratio 2.13, p = 0.007), anticoagulation with low-molecular-weight heparin (odds ratio 3.44, p = 0.015), and a history of vascular disease (odds ratio 5.68, p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: While inappropriate combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy has declined over the last decade, there is still room for improvement. Antiplatelet deprescribing should be considered in all patients with inappropriate combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy, including those with vascular disease and no recent cardiovascular event.
PMID:36821028 | DOI:10.1007/s40266-023-01006-8