Reasons for not prescribing anticoagulants in hospitalized patients with atrial fibrillation and high risk of stroke: what should be the optimal management tactics for these patients?

Abstract

The objective of our study was to determine the reasons for not prescribing anticoagulant therapy (ACT) in the therapeutic department of university clinic for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and a high risk of stroke and to discuss the optimal management of these patients.Methods and materials. A retrospective analysis of 1307 case histories of AF patients admitted to a university therapeutic clinic from 2014 to 2018 presented. The reasons for not prescribing ACT to patients with AF and high risk of stroke and optimal ACT discussed.Results. ACT was not prescribed to 109 (9.7 %) hospitalized patients out of 1128 patients with AF without prosthetic valves and mitral stenosis who had a high risk of stroke ((4.5±1.1) points on the CHA2DS2VASc scale). The risk of bleeding – (1.6±0.1) (HAS-BLED). The age of patients was (73.8±10.4) years. From 2014 to 2018, the frequency of unjustified non-prescribing ACT decreased by 3.7 times – from 47/205 (22.9 %) in 2014 to 11/178 (6.2 %) in 2018 (p=0.001). In general, over 5 years of observations, subjective reasons for not prescribing ACT were: lack of stroke risk assessment (78.0 %), senile age of patients and the presence of dementia (42.2 %), the first paroxysm of AF (22.9 %) during myocardial infarction and heart surgery, planned surgical treatment, effective radiofrequency ablation and patient refusal. Objective (usually transient) reasons for not prescribing ACT were: severe and moderate anemia (24.8 %), recent bleeding (11.9 %), gastrointestinal diseases predisposing to bleedings (9.2 %), oncology (12.8 %), end-stage chronic kidney disease (2.8 %), thrombocytopenia (2.8 %). Often various reasons for not prescribing ACT were combined.Conclusion. In patients with AF and a high risk of stroke, the incidence of not prescribing ACT decreased by 3.7 times from 2014 to 2018. In 2014, the most common reasons for not prescribing ACT were the lack of stroke risk assessment and the senile age of patients, and in 2017–2018 senile age, the first paroxysm of AF, effective radiofrequency ablation, anemia, recent bleeding, and gastrointestinal diseases predisposing to bleedings.