Anticoagulant Therapy and Hip Fracture Risk

Suboptimal Use of DOACs Post-Discharge for Geriatric Hip Fractures with Isolated Calf Deep Vein Thrombosis: Do Clinician Prescribing Preferences and Patient Compliance Alters Clinical Outcomes?

Introduction

This study aimed to examine the impacts of DOACs compliance and prescribing preferences on clinical outcomes in elderly hip fracture patients with isolated calf deep vein thrombosis (ICDVT).

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study that evaluated 702 patients who underwent surgical treatment combined with ICDVT in an academic university hospital between January 2016 and October 2021. DOACs compliance was investigated through telephone and outpatient follow-up, and ICDVT clinical outcomes were collected 30 and 90 days post-discharge, respectively. Variables of interest were collected through the electronic medical record system, and data were analyzed after adjusting for predictors of non-completely dissolved (CD) of ICDVT.

Results

The DOACs compliance survey revealed that 375 (53.42%) patients were fully adherent, 270 (38.46%) were fairly adherent, and 57 (8.12%) were poorly adherent. Approximately 62% of patients had ICDVT dissipation within 30 days after discharge, reaching 94% within 90 days. DOACs QD/BID regimen is often based on economic status, activity capacity, discharge destination and post-operative weight-bearing activities (p<0.05).The mechanism of injury, ASA classification, surgical technique and timing of ICDVT formation were significantly correlated with DOACs 14/28 days regimen (p<0.05).Multivariate analysis revealed that rural patients [OR 1.518 (95% CI, 1.117-2.236)], pre-operative ICDVT[OR 2.816 (95% CI, 1.862-4.259)] and thrombus length [OR 1.157 (95% CI, 1.263-1.821)] were ICDVT risk factors for non-CD. Furthermore, DOACs fair compliance [OR 0.087 (95% CI, 0.042-0.178)], DOACs full compliance [OR 0.283 (95% CI, 0.139-0.579)], and hospitalization duration [OR 0.793 (95% CI, 0.694-0.907)] were ICDVT protective factors for CD.

Conclusion

Better compliance with DOACs benefits early ICDVT dissipation, but final clinical outcomes have to be validated with longer follow-up periods. When managing elderly patients with hip fractures, indications for anticoagulation should be considered and individualized protocols should be used.

Fracture risks in patients with atrial fibrillation treated with different oral anticoagulants: a meta-analysis and systematic review

Aims

evidence on the difference in fracture risks for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) receiving direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) versus warfarin remains controversial. We aim to compare the fracture risks between the DOAC and warfarin prescriptions among the AF patients.

Methods and Results

we systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and Web of Science up to 19 April 2021 for relevant studies. And the observational studies regarding the relationship between the DAOC versus warfarin prescriptions and fracture risks among the patients with AF were included in this meta-analysis. Two investigators independently screened the articles and extracted the relevant data. A random- or fixed-effect model was applied to calculate the pooled hazard ratio/relative ratios with 95% confidence intervals of fracture risks associated with the DOAC and warfarin prescriptions. Six studies comprising 351,208 patients and 9,424 fractures were included in this meta-analysis. Overall, the AF patients treated with DOACs tend to present a lower risk of any fracture compared with those treated with warfarin (relative ratio: 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.74–0.91). Sub-analyses for each individual DOAC indicate that apixaban and rivaroxan are associated with lower risk of any fracture compared with warfarin (HR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.60–0.92, and HR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.71–0.88, respectively).

Conclusion

this meta-analysis suggests that DOAC users have a lower risk of fractures than the warfarin users. The results of this study may provide optimal anticoagulation opportunities for AF patients with high fracture risk factors.