Seminars in thrombosis and hemostasis
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Semin. Thromb. Hemost. · Feb 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyDevelopment of a tool to identify patients' preference for vitamin K antagonist or direct oral anticoagulant therapy.
Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) were developed for the treatment of thromboembolic diseases to overcome limitations of vitamin K antagonists (VKA). International guidelines on atrial fibrillation acknowledge patients' for antiembolic therapy with VKA or DOAC as relevant decision criteria. The objective assessment of patients' preference social interactions and psychological factors are hard to measure albeit representing important contributors. ⋯ Indication for anticoagulation were atrial fibrillation (n = 106), pulmonary embolism (n = 24), deep vein thrombosis (n = 40), artificial heart valve replacement (n = 8), or other diseases (n = 2). Based on the results of the analysis, a score will be suggested to identify the preference of patients for anticoagulation with VKA or DOAC. This tool may be useful for practitioners and health-care professionals to support patient adherence to therapy, and thereby increase treatment effectiveness.