Objective: To determine the temporal trend in poorly-controlled anticoagulated patients.
Material and methods: A longitudinal study was conducted on a non-unselected sample of all patients seen in a health centre over a period of 3 years (2011-2013). Patients who received anti-vitamin K anticoagulation for at least 6 months due to non-valvular atrial fibrillation were selected, obtaining a final sample of 130 patients.
Results: The mean age of the sample was 77.0±1.5 years and 53.1% were male. The prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus was 90% and 33.8%, respectively, and 11.5% and 14.6% had had heart failure or a stroke, respectively. The mean number of medications taken by patients was 7.6±0.6. The prevalence of insufficient control of time in therapeutic range, calculated by Rosendaal, was 60.2% in 2011, 54.2% in 2010, and 43.4% in 2012. On analysing the time in the therapeutic range in patients with impaired control in the first quarter of follow-up, it was observed to remain low in subsequent years: 69.7% vs 55%, P=.0005, in 2011; 71.9% vs 59.3%, P=.0015 in 2012; and 74.7% vs 60%, P=.0005 in 2013.
Conclusions: Our study shows that patients with inadequate time in therapeutic range have a tendency to stay in poor control, suggesting the need for early clinical decisions in patients on anticoagulants, taking into account the prognosis and economic costs of atrial fibrillation and treatment.
Keywords: Anticoagulación; Anticoagulation; Fibrilación auricular no valvular; Non-valvular atrial fibrillation; Tiempo en rango terapéutico; Time in therapeutic range.
Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Médicos de Atención Primaria (SEMERGEN). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.