Hospital-Wide AF Alert System Boosts Anticoagulation Adherence, Cuts Stroke
This quality-improvement study shows that automated electrocardiogram-based atrial fibrillation screening with guideline-directed anticoagulant recommendations can nearly double oral anticoagulant guideline adherence and reduce observed stroke rates, a workflow directly relevant to anticoagulation stewardship pharmacists.
direct oral anticoagulantsDOACatrial fibrillationstroke preventionanticoagulation stewardshipguideline adherencequality improvementCHA2DS2-VAScbleedingcardiologyAnticoagulation / Hematology
Background Information
Hospital-wide AF screening enhances anticoagulation guidelines adherence, reduces strokes.
Many patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are not receiving optimal anticoagulation therapy, which increases stroke risk. Guideline adherence for direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) improved from 40.6% to 82.5%, reducing annual stroke rates to 2.79% compared to 9.91% for non-adherent patients. A hospital-wide AF screening system successfully increased adherence to DOAC guidelines and reduced stroke rates, with minor increases in minor bleeding rates. Hospital-wide screening for AF can significantly improve DOAC guideline adherence and reduce stroke risk.
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