Development and Application of an Attribute-Based Taxonomy on the Benefits of Oral Anticoagulant Switching in Atrial Fibrillation: A Delphi Study.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) often switch between oral anticoagulants (OACs). It can be hard to know why a patient has switched outside of a clinical setting. Medication attribute comparisons can suggest benefits. Consensus on terms and definitions is required for inferring OAC switch benefits. The objectives of the study were to generate consensus on a taxonomy of the potential benefits of OAC switching in patients with AF and apply the taxonomy to real-world data. METHODS: Nine expert clinicians (seven clinical pharmacists, two cardiologists) with at least 3 years of clinical and research experience in AF participated in a Delphi process. The experts rated and commented on a proposed taxonomy on the potential benefits of OAC switching. After each Delphi round, ratings were analyzed with the RAND Corporation/University of California, Los Angeles (RAND/UCLA) appropriateness method. Median ratings, disagreement index, and comments were used to modify the taxonomy. The resulting taxonomy from the Delphi process was applied to a cohort of patients with AF who switched OACs in a population-based administrative health dataset from 1996 to 2019 in British Columbia, Canada. RESULTS: The taxonomy was finalized in two Delphi rounds, reaching consensus on five switch benefit categories: safety, effectiveness, convenience, economic considerations, and drug interactions. Safety benefit (a switch that could lower the risk of adverse drug events) had three subcategories: major bleeding, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), and gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Effectiveness benefit had four subcategories: stroke and systemic embolism (SSE), ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), and all-cause mortality. Real-world OAC switches revealed that more OAC switches had convenience (72.6%) and drug interaction (63.0%) benefits compared to effectiveness (SSE 22.0%, ischemic stroke 11.1%, MI 3.1%, all-cause mortality 10.1%), safety (major bleeding 24.3%, GI bleeding 10.6%, ICH 48.5%), and economic benefits (12.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The Delphi-based taxonomy identified five criteria for the beneficial effects of OAC switching, aiding in characterizing real-world OAC switching.

Oral anticoagulant switching in patients with atrial fibrillation: a scoping review.

INTRODUCTION: Oral anticoagulants (OACs) prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Several factors may cause OAC switching. OBJECTIVES: To examine the phenomenon of OAC switching in patients with AF, including all available evidence; frequency and patterns of switch, clinical outcomes, adherence, patient-reported outcomes, reasons for switch, factors associated with switch and evidence gaps. DESIGN: Scoping review. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Embase and Web of Science, up to January 2022. RESULTS: Of the 116 included studies, 2/3 examined vitamin K antagonist (VKA) to direct-acting OAC (DOAC) switching. Overall, OAC switching was common and the definition of an OAC switch varied across. Switching from VKA to dabigatran was the most prevalent switch type, but VKA to apixaban has increased in recent years. Patients on DOAC switched more to warfarin than to other DOACs. OAC doses involved in the switches were hardly reported and patients were often censored after the first switch. Switching back to a previously taken OAC (frequently warfarin) occurred in 5%-21% of switchers.The risk of ischaemic stroke and gastrointestinal bleeding in VKA to DOAC switchers compared with non-switchers was conflicting, while there was no difference in the risk of other types of bleeding. The risk of ischaemic stroke in switchers from DOAC versus non-switchers was conflicting. Studies evaluating adherence found no significant changes in adherence after switching from VKA to DOAC, however, an increase in satisfaction with therapy were reported. Reasons for OAC switch, and factors associated with OAC switch were mostly risk factors for stroke and bleeding. Clinical outcomes, adherence and patient-reported outcomes were sparse for switches from DOACs. CONCLUSIONS: OAC switching is common in patients with AF and patients often switch back to an OAC they have previously been on. There are aspects of OAC switching that have received little study, especially in switches from DOACs.

Oral anticoagulant adherence and switching in patients with atrial fibrillation: A prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to oral anticoagulants (OACs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is important in preventing stroke. The dominance of retrospective studies using administrative data has led to a lack of data on psychosocial determinants of adherence and prevented comparison of adherence between OAC drug classes. OAC switching is another aspect of adherence that is unexplored. METHODS: A prospective design was utilized to measure AF patients' self-reported adherence and OAC switching, and to identify their clinical, demographic, and psychosocial determinants. Participants were recruited from specialized AF clinics in Canada and followed for up to 2 years. Data were collected via telephone every 3-4 months using a structured survey. Adherence was measured using the Morisky Medication Adherence scale (©MMAS-8). RESULTS: The included participants (N = 306) were followed for a median follow up time of 14.1 months and had an average of 3.2(SD 1.4) study visits. The mean self-reported adherence on the ©MMAS-8 was 7.28(SD 0.71) for patients receiving care at specialized AF clinics. Older age, experiencing a bleed, and higher satisfaction with the burden of medications were significantly associated with higher adherence. Drug class did not have any significant impact on adherence. 7.8% of the cohort experienced a switch with most of them being from warfarin to DOAC. Taking warfarin as the index medication, experiencing a bleed and older age were significantly associated with higher odds of switching. CONCLUSION: Patients with AF reported high adherence to their OAC therapy however being on DOAC may not translate to better adherence compared to VKA. Improving satisfaction with the burden of therapy is important in improving adherence.

Satisfaction With Oral Anticoagulants Among Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Prospective Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Satisfaction with treatment has been identified as an important contributing factor to adherence with oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We aimed to evaluate the satisfaction level of patients with AF regarding OAC use over time, using validated patient-reported outcome instruments, and to identify associated patient characteristics. METHODS: Participants were recruited from specialized AF clinics in Canada. Eligible AF patients who were prescribed OACs were followed for up to 2 years. Participants were interviewed via telephone every 3-4 months using a structured survey. The Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM II) and the Anti-Clot Treatment Scale (ACTS) were used to measure satisfaction over time. RESULTS: Among the 306 participants, satisfaction scores on the TSQM II and ACTS instruments were high. Unadjusted analyses showed significantly greater satisfaction with the burden of therapy with direct OACs (DOACs) compared to that with warfarin (small-magnitude effect) and greater satisfaction with the convenience of rivaroxaban, compared with that of all other OACs (moderate-magnitude effect). After adjustment for all other variables, vitamin K antagonist therapy was associated with greater global satisfaction than was DOAC treatment. Satisfaction with benefit and burden as measured by the ACTS scale, and global satisfaction on the TSQM II scale, tended to increase over time. Patient factors that were somewhat consistently associated with greater satisfaction were female sex and younger age. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with AF were highly satisfied with their therapy, with few differences among OAC classes and individual OACs. Individual patients may or may not be more satisfied with DOAC than VKA therapy, and regardless of the OAC prescribed, the may require significant support to maintain therapy adherence.

CONTEXTE: La satisfaction à l'égard du traitement a été désignée comme un facteur important contribuant à l'adhésion au traitement par anticoagulants oraux (ACO) chez les patients atteints de fibrillation auriculaire (FA). Notre objectif était d'évaluer le degré de satisfaction des patients atteints de FA concernant l'utilisation des ACO au fil du temps, à l'aide d'instruments validés mesurant les résultats signalés par les patients, et de déterminer les caractéristiques connexes des patients. MÉTHODOLOGIE: Les participants ont été recrutés dans des cliniques spécialisées en FA au Canada. Les patients admissibles atteints de FA qui se sont fait prescrire des ACO ont été suivis pendant une période allant jusqu'à 2 ans. Les participants ont été interrogés par téléphone tous les 3 ou 4 mois à l'aide d'une enquête structurée. Le questionnaire Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication ­ Version II (TSQM II) et l'échelle Anti-Clot Treatment Scale (ACTS) ont été utilisés pour mesurer la satisfaction au fil du temps. RÉSULTATS: Parmi les 306 participants, les taux de satisfaction indiqués par les instruments TSQM II et ACTS étaient élevés. Les analyses non corrigées ont montré une satisfaction liée au fardeau du traitement significativement plus élevée avec les ACO directs qu'avec la warfarine (effet de faible ampleur) et une plus grande satisfaction concernant la commodité du rivaroxaban par rapport à celle de tous les autres ACO (effet de moyenne ampleur). Après ajustement pour tenir compte de toutes les autres variables, le traitement par antivitamines K (AVK) était associé à une plus grande satisfaction globale que le traitement par ACO direct. La satisfaction à l'égard des avantages et du fardeau, mesurée par l'échelle ACTS, et la satisfaction globale sur l'échelle TSQM II, ont eu tendance à augmenter avec le temps. Les facteurs liés aux patients qui ont été associés de manière assez constante à une plus grande satisfaction étaient le sexe féminin et un âge plus jeune. CONCLUSIONS: Les patients atteints de FA étaient très satisfaits de leur traitement, et peu de différences existaient entre les classes d'ACO et les ACO individuels. Chaque patient peut être ou non plus satisfait du traitement par ACO direct que par AVK et, quel que soit l'ACO prescrit, il peut avoir besoin d'un soutien important pour maintenir l'adhésion au traitement.

Management of uncomplicated gastric ulcer in community pharmacy: a pseudo-patient study.

Background Increasing role of community pharmacists sometimes demands the diagnoses of minor ailments using appropriate questioning skills and recommendation of over-the-counter medications to patients seeking self-care. Objective To evaluate community pharmacists' questioning and diagnostic skills of minor ailment complaints, and the appropriateness of medication(s) recommendations made. Setting One hundred and thirty-one community pharmacies in Ibadan, Nigeria. Method A cross-sectional survey employing pseudo-patient study method. The pseudo-patient visited 131 community pharmacies from June 2017 to January 2018 and complained of stomach ache. The conversation between the pharmacists and pseudo-patient were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Two criteria were used to evaluate the questioning skill of the community pharmacists. One of the criteria was developed by a six-membered panel and had 13 questions while the other contained five questions:-Who is it for? What are the symptoms? How long have the symptoms been present? Action taken? and Medication used.? Questioning skill of the community pharmacists was classified based on the median scores of these two criteria as: poor, moderate and optimal. The diagnoses made by the community pharmacists from the pseudo-patients complaints were compared with the expected diagnosis of uncomplicated gastric ulcer caused by the use of ibuprofen. Recommendations for the pseudo-patients minor ailment were also compared with the Nigeria standard treatment guideline. Main outcome measure Pharmacists' questioning skill, types of diagnosis made and appropriateness of medications recommended. Results The median scores for the questioning skill criterion containing 5 and 13 questions were 2 and 4, respectively; showing poor questioning skill. Differential diagnoses of gastric ulcer, dyspepsia, gastroesophageal reflux, and hyperacidity were made by 92 (67.4%) pharmacists but 3 (2.3%) correctly diagnosed the pseudo-patients' minor ailment as uncomplicated gastric ulcer caused by short-term use of ibuprofen. Antacids were recommended in line with the standard treatment guideline by 46 (35.7%) pharmacists while proton pump inhibitors were recommended by 6 (4.7%) pharmacists. None advised the withdrawal of the provocative factor according to the treatment guideline. Conclusion The questioning skill of the community pharmacists in this setting was poor. Few community pharmacists diagnosed the pseudo-patients' minor ailment correctly. Also, recommendations were mostly inappropriate compared with the standard treatment guideline.