Key result
OAC prescription reaches ~43% in AF patients and correlates weakly with estimated stroke risk.
Why the study?
Current guidelines recommend stroke risk stratification tools to guide oral anticoagulant use in atrial fibrillation, but patterns of use and associated factors remain unclear.
Population
21,564 AF patients without rheumatic heart disease or valve replacement from 315 Scottish General Practices
Comparison
Oral anticoagulant use versus no anticoagulant use by stroke risk category
Design
Cross-sectional multilevel modelling study
Authors
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OAC use in AF remains weakly tied to risk with marked practice variation; leaves open whether risk tools meaningfully improve prescribing or outcomes.
Cross-Sectional (n=21,564)
Yes
Oral anticoagulant prescribing in atrial fibrillation is highly variable across primary care practices and only weakly associated with estimated stroke risk, indicating significant gaps in guideline implementation.
Dreischulte et al. (2013) conducted a cross-sectional in Atrial fibrillation (n=21,564). Oral anticoagulants was evaluated on Prescription of oral anticoagulants. Among 21,564 patients with atrial fibrillation, 43.3% were prescribed oral anticoagulants, and use was only weakly related to estimated stroke risk.
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