Dataset Information

Anticoagulant therapies for acute venous thromboembolism among a cohort of patients discharged from Canadian urban and rural hospitals.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To determine anticoagulant therapy at hospital discharge for patients with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) and secondarily, to describe factors affecting choice of therapy.

Design

A retrospective chart review.

Setting

Canadian hospitals in Edmonton, Alberta (n=4), Regina, Saskatchewan (n=2) and rural Alberta (n=3) from April 2014 to March 2015.

Participants

All patients discharged with an acute VTE were screened. Those with atypical clots, another indication for anticoagulation, pregnancy/breast feeding or lifespan <3 months were excluded.

Primary and secondary outcomes

Primarily, we identified the proportion of patients discharged from hospital with acute VTE that were prescribed either traditional therapy (parenteral anticoagulant±warfarin) or a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC). Secondarily, management based on setting, therapy choice based on deep vein thrombosis (DVT) versus pulmonary embolism (PE), clot burden and renal function was compared. DOAC dosing was assessed (when prescribed), length of hospital stay based on therapy was compared and planned follow-up in the community was described.

Results

Among the 695 patients included, most were discharged following a diagnosis of PE (82.9%) on traditional therapy (parenteral anticoagulant±warfarin) (70.2%) with follow-up by either a family doctor (51.5%) or specialist/clinic (46.9%) postdischarge. Regional variation was most evident between urban and rural sites. Of those prescribed a DOAC (28.3%), the majority were dosed appropriately (85.8%). DOAC use did not differ between those with DVT and PE, was proportionately higher for less severe clots and declined with worsening renal function. Patients prescribed DOACs versus traditional therapy had a shorter length of stay (4 vs 7 days, respectively).

Conclusions

Uptake of DOAC therapy for acute VTE was modest and may have been influenced by the timing of the audit in relation to the approval of these agents for this indication. Future audits should occur to assess temporal changes and ongoing appropriateness of care delivery.

SUBMITTER: Bungard TJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6224751 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Anticoagulant therapies for acute venous thromboembolism among a cohort of patients discharged from Canadian urban and rural hospitals.

Bungard Tammy J TJ Ritchie Bruce B Bolt Jennifer J Semchuk William M WM

BMJ open 20181031 10

<h4>Objective</h4>To determine anticoagulant therapy at hospital discharge for patients with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) and secondarily, to describe factors affecting choice of therapy.<h4>Design</h4>A retrospective chart review.<h4>Setting</h4>Canadian hospitals in Edmonton, Alberta (n=4), Regina, Saskatchewan (n=2) and rural Alberta (n=3) from April 2014 to March 2015.<h4>Participants</h4>All patients discharged with an acute VTE were screened. Those with atypical clots, another indica ...[more]

PMID: 30385440

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectiveTo compare the characteristics/management of acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) for patients either discharged directly from the emergency department (ED) or hospitalised throughout a year within two urban cities in Canada.DesignRetrospective medical record review.SettingHospitals in Edmonton, Alberta (n=4) and Regina, Saskatchewan (n=2) from April 2014 to March 2015.ParticipantsAll patients discharged from the ED or hospital with acute deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism (PE). Those having another indication for anticoagulant therapy, pregnant/breast feeding or anticipated lifespan <3 months were excluded.Primary and secondary outcomesPrimarily, to compare proportion of patients receiving traditional therapy (parenteral anticoagulant±warfarin) relative to a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) between the two cohorts. Secondarily, to assess differences with therapy selected based on clot burden and follow-up plans postdischarge.Results387 (25.2%) and 665 (72.5%) patients from the ED and hospital cohorts, respectively, were included. Compared with the ED cohort, those hospitalised were older (57.3 and 64.5 years; p<0.0001), more likely to have PE (35.7% vs 83.8%) with a simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (sPESI) ?1 (31.2% vs 65.2%), cancer (14.7% and 22.3%; p=0.003) and pulmonary disease (10.1% and 20.6%; p<0.0001). For the ED and hospital cohorts, similar proportions of patients were prescribed traditional therapies (72.6% and 71.1%) and a DOAC (25.8% and 27.4%, respectively). For the ED cohort, DOAC use was similar between those with a sPESI score of 0 and ?1 (35.1% and 34.9%, p=0.98) whereas for those hospitalised lower risk patients were more likely to receive a DOAC (31.4% and 23.8%, p<0.055). Follow-up was most common with family physicians for those hospitalised (51.5%), while specialists/VTE clinic was most common for those directly discharged from the ED (50.6%).ConclusionsTraditional and DOAC therapies were proportionately similar between the ED and hospitalised cohorts, despite clear differences in patient populations and follow-up patterns in the community.

Project description:ObjectiveTo report the proportion of patients discharged directly from the emergency department (ED) on traditional therapy (parenteral anticoagulant±warfarin) or a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) for the management of acute venous thromboembolism (VTE).DesignRetrospective medical record review across four EDs in Edmonton, Alberta, two in Regina, Saskatchewan and three in rural Alberta.SettingEDs from April 2014 through March 2015.ParticipantsDischarged directly from the ED with acute VTE. Patients were excluded if they had another indication for anticoagulants, were pregnant/breastfeeding or anticipated lifespan <3 months.Primary and secondary outcome measuresPrimarily, the proportion of patients discharged directly from the ED that were prescribed traditional therapy or a DOAC, with comparisons between Edmonton, Regina and rural Alberta. Secondarily, therapy selection was compared based on deep vein thrombosis (DVT) versus pulmonary embolism (PE) and clot burden. Dosing of DOACs was assessed (when applicable) and follow-up in the community was compared.ResultsAfter screening 1723 patients, 417 (24.2%) were included with DVT and PE occurring in 65.5% and 34.5%, respectively. More patients with PE were discharged from EDs in Edmonton (43%) than Regina (7%). Overall, the majority of patients were discharged on traditional therapy (70.7%), with 27.8% receiving a DOAC. Uptake of DOAC use was highest in rural Alberta (53.3%) compared with Edmonton (29.6%) and Regina (12.1%). DOACs were more commonly prescribed for PE (34.0%) than DVT (24.5%) (p=0.04), proximal versus distal DVT (28.4% and 17.3%; p<0.001), and when prescribed were appropriately dosed in 79.3%. Follow-up most commonly occurred via a VTE clinic in Edmonton or family physician in Regina and rural Alberta.ConclusionsRegional variation in discharging patients directly from the ED with PE is evident. While traditional therapy is most common, uptake of DOACs was modest given the timing of indication approval.

Project description:ObjectivesDespite the burden of venous thromboembolism (VTE) among surgical patients on health systems in Australia, data on VTE incidence and its variation within Australia are lacking. We aim to explore VTE and subsequent mortality rates, trends and variations across Australian acute public hospitals.SettingA large retrospective cohort study using all elective surgical patients in 82 acute public hospitals during 2002-2009 in New South Wales, Australia.ParticipantsPatients underwent elective surgery within 2 days of admission, aged between 18 and 90 years, and who were not transferred to another acute care facility; 4 362 624 patients were included.Outcome measuresVTE incidents were identified by secondary diagnostic codes. Poisson mixed models were used to derive adjusted incidence rates and rate ratios (IRR).Results2/1000 patients developed postoperative VTE. VTE increased by 30% (IRR=1.30, CI 1.19 to 1.42) over the study period. Differences in the VTE rates, trends between hospital peer groups and between hospitals with the highest and those with the lowest rates were significant (between-hospital variation). Smaller hospitals, accommodated in two peer groups, had the lowest overall VTE rates (IRR=0.56:0.33 to 0.95; IRR=0.37:0.23 to 0.61) and exhibited a greater increase (64% and 237% vs 19%) overtime and greater between-hospital variations compared to larger hospitals (IRR=8.64:6.23 to 11.98; IRR=8.92:5.49 to 14.49 vs IRR=3.70:3.32 to 4.12). Mortality among patients with postoperative VTE was 8% and remained stable overtime. No differences in post-VTE death rates and trends were seen between hospital groups; however, larger hospitals exhibited less between-hospital variations (IRR=1.78:1.30 to 2.44) compared to small hospitals (IRR>23). Hospitals performed differently in prevention versus treatment of postoperative VTE.ConclusionsVTE incidence is increasing and there is large variation between-hospital and within-hospital peer groups suggesting a varied compliance with VTE preventative strategies and the potential for targeted interventions and quality improvement opportunities.

Dataset Information

Anticoagulant therapies for acute venous thromboembolism among a cohort of patients discharged from Canadian urban and rural hospitals.

Objective

Design

Setting

Participants

Primary and secondary outcomes

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Anticoagulant therapies for acute venous thromboembolism among a cohort of patients discharged from Canadian urban and rural hospitals.

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