Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Journal of the American College of Cardiology
4 years ago

Off-Label Dosing of Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants and Adverse Outcomes

Off-Label Dosing of Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants and Adverse Outcomes
Although non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) do not require frequent laboratory monitoring, each compound requires dose adjustments on the basis of certain clinical criteria. Objectives This study assessed the frequency of off-label NOAC doses among AF patients and the associations between off-label dose therapy and clinical outcomes in community practice. Methods We evaluated 5,738 patients treated with a NOAC at 242 ORBIT-AF II (Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation phase II) sites. NOAC doses were classified as either underdosed or overdosed, consistent with Food and Drug Administration labeling. Longitudinal outcomes (median follow-up: 0.99 years) included stroke or systemic embolism, myocardial infarction, major bleeding (International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis criteria), cause-specific hospitalization, and all-cause mortality. Results Overall, 541 NOAC-treated patients (9.4%) were underdosed, 197 were overdosed (3.4%), and 5,000 were dosed according to U.S. labeling (87%). Compared with patients receiving the recommended dose, those who were receiving off-label doses were older (median: 79 and 80 years of age vs. 70 years of age, respectively; p < 0.0001), more likely female (48% and 67% vs. 40%, respectively; p < 0.0001), less likely to be treated by an electrophysiologist (18% and 19% vs. 27%, respectively; p < 0.0001), and had higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores (96% and 97% ≥2 vs. 86%, respectively; p < 0.0001) and higher ORBIT bleeding scores (25% and 31% >4 vs. 11%, respectively; p < 0.0001). After dose adjustment, NOAC overdosing was associated with increased all-cause mortality compared with recommended doses (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.91; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02 to 3.60; p = 0.04). Underdosing was associated with increased cardiovascular hospitalization (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.50; p = 0.007). Conclusions A significant minority (almost 1 in 8) of U.S. patients in the community received NOAC doses inconsistent with labeling. NOAC over- and underdosing are associated with increased risk for adverse events. (Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation II [ORBIT-AF II]; NCT01701817)

Publisher URL: www.sciencedirect.com/science

DOI: S0735109716366451

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.