Back to Search
Start Over
Current Use of Oral Anticoagulation Therapy in Elderly Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: Results from an Italian Multicenter Prospective Study—The ISNEP Study
- Source :
- Journal of Personalized Medicine; Volume 12; Issue 9; Pages: 1419
- Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common heart arrhythmia, and its prevalence increases with age. Oral Anticoagulant Therapy (OAT) with non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) or vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) is essential to avoid thromboembolic events in AF. However, this treatment is associated with a high risk of bleeding and low adherence in elderly patients. Aim: The aim was to evaluate the real-world use of OAT in a population of patients aged ≥80 years in twenty-three Italian centers and to investigate the tolerance of and patient satisfaction with this therapy. Methods: The ISNEP Study is a multicenter cross-sectional study enrolling patients with AF and aged ≥80 years and treated with either NOACs or VKAs. A written questionnaire was administered to each patient to evaluate the adherence to and patient satisfaction with this therapy. Results: The study included 641 patients with a mean age of 85 (82–87) years. The use of NOACs was reported in 93.0% of cases, with the remaining 7.0% treated with VKAs. A history of stroke events was reported in five (11.1%) and one (0.2%) patients in the VKA and NOAC groups, respectively. The rate of referred ecchymosis/epistaxis was significantly higher in the VKA group compared to the NOAC group (p < 0.001). Patients receiving NOACs reported a substantial improvement in their quality of life compared to the VKA group. Conclusions: A small, but not negligible, proportion of elderly AF patients is still treated with VKAs. Patients treated with NOAC have a higher level of satisfaction with the therapy and complete adherence.
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Personalized Medicine; Volume 12; Issue 9; Pages: 1419
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....d51ae8aedd2abb5c86798d54675b713b