Interventions and Strategies to Improve Oral Anticoagulant Use in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews

Abstract

© 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature. Introduction: Anticoagulation therapy is the fundamental approach for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients. Numerous systematic reviews comparing anticoagulation strategies have been published. We aim to summarize the efficacy and safety evidence of these strategies in AF patients from previously published systematic reviews. Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane library from inception to Feb 24th, 2017, to identify systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials that assessed interventions or strategies to improve oral anticoagulant use in AF patients. Results: Thirty-four systematic reviews were eligible for inclusion but only 11 were included in the qualitative analyses, corresponding to 40 unique meta-analyses, as the remaining systematic reviews had overlapping primary studies. There was insufficient evidence to support the efficacy of genotype-guided dosing and pharmacist-managed anticoagulation clinics for stroke prevention in AF patients. Conversely, patient’s self-management and novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs), in general were superior to warfarin for preventing stroke and reducing mortality. All interventions showed comparable risk of major bleeding with warfarin. Conclusion: Findings from this overview support the superiority of NOACs and patient’s self-management for preventing stroke in AF patients. However, uncertainties remain on the benefits of genotype-guided dosing and pharmacist-managed anticoagulation clinics due to poor quality evidence, and future research is warranted.