Anticoagulants in atrial fibrillation

Last month, the research round-up provided you with an overview of articles looking at issues in the areas of rheumatology. This month we are looking at prescribing in atrial fibrillation. The first article looks at managing the condition in primary and secondary care setting. The second looks at patterns of anticoagulant prescribing in general practice while the third examines barriers and enables in stroke prevention.

This study, published in the journal EP Europace, sought to establish a prospective registry looking at the contemporary management of patients with atrial fibrillation by cardiologists, GPs and other relevant physicians in the UK and look at data at baseline and at 1-year follow-up.

The researchers collected data on patients who had been diagnosed in the preceding 12 months. The data were retrieved from medical records from 101 UK sites and was necessary to compare characteristics of the patients and their treatments between the medical specialties involved in prescribing for atrial fibrillation. One of the outcome measures was whether or not guidelines for oral anticoagulation were being adhered to and this was analysed using regression analysis. In total, records for 1595 patients who met the criteria for study were included. Demographic data were reported on including age, gender and ethnicity. Participants recruited had data collected at baseline and were advised this would be re-done at a 1-year follow-up point. The participants were recruited between June 2017 and June 2018.