Adverse outcomes associated with inappropriate direct oral anticoagulant starter pack prescription among patients with atrial fibrillation: a retrospective claims-based study

AbstractDirect oral anticoagulant (DOAC) starter packs are designed for unique treatment dosing for acute venous thromboembolism (VTE). Inappropriate use of 30-day DOAC starter packs in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) may increase the risk for bleeding events given higher dosing in the first 1 –3 weeks of treatment. A retrospective analysis of medical and outpatient pharmacy claims data from 2015 to 2018 in Optum’s De-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart was performed. Patients greater than 18 years of age with AF and a new prescription of apixaban or rivaroxaban were included. Pat ients with an acute VTE were excluded. The main outcome of interest was adverse events (emergency department [ED] visits, hospitalizations, and deaths within 90 days after prescription fill date) associated with inappropriate DOAC starter pack prescription. A total of 90,950 DOAC-treated patients w ith AF were identified. The mean age was 74.5 years (SD 10.0) and 42,717 (47.0%) were female. Inappropriate starter packs were used by 117 (0.1%) patients, who were younger than non-starter pack patients (71.3 years vs. 74.5 years). Patients who received an inappropriate DOAC prescription were mo re likely to identify as Black (12.0% vs. 8.8%). Rates of ED visits, hospitalizations, and deaths overall were numerically lower in patients with starter pack compared to non-starter pack DOAC prescriptions. In contrast, rates of ED visits and hospitalizations related to significant bleeding ...
Source: Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis - Category: Hematology Source Type: research