[Prevalence of atrial fibrillation and relationed factors in a population in the centre Madrid]

[Fibrilación auricular de primera vez en evento vascular cerebral isquémico en el servicio de urgencias]

Objective

To determine the incidence of undiagnosed atrial fibrillation in patients with an ischemic cerebral vascular event.

Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional design was carried out in patients older than 18 years with a diagnosis of ischemic cerebral vascular event, attended in the emergency department. The sample size was made up of the total clinical records of patients with a diagnosis of ischemic cerebral vascular event (n = 199). All patients who underwent electrocardiogram were included. Age and sex were studied; history of diabetes mellitus and history of hypertension. The cerebral vascular event was diagnosed with a computerized axial tomography endorsed by a radiologist; atrial fibrillation was considered when an irregular R-R wave, absence of P wave, and irregular atrial activity were identified on the electrocardiogram. The reading and interpretation was performed by the emergency physician. Statistical analysis included percentages, confidence intervals for percentages and calculation of probability of occurrence of binomial event.

Results

The average age of the patients with a cerebral vascular event is 72.37 years (95% CI: 70.91-73.82), the male sex predominates with 57.7% (95% CI: 50.8-64.7). The diagnosis of arterial hypertension is present in 74.8% (95% CI: 68.8-80.9) of the patients. The incidence of first-time atrial fibrillation is 72.36% (95% CI: 66.0-78.6).

Conclusion

In the studied population, the incidence of previously undiagnosed atrial fibrillation in patients with ischemic cerebrovascular event is high.

Risk analysis of new oral anticoagulants for gastrointestinal bleeding and intracranial hemorrhage in atrial fibrillation patients: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Antithrombotic therapy using new oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) has been generally shown to have a favorable risk-benefit profile. Since there has been dispute about the risks of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), we sought to conduct a systematic review and network meta-analysis using Bayesian inference to analyze the risks of GIB and ICH in AF patients taking NOACs.

METHODS

We analyzed data from 20 randomized controlled trials of 91 671 AF patients receiving anticoagulants, antiplatelet drugs, or placebo. Bayesian network meta-analysis of two different evidence networks was performed using a binomial likelihood model, based on a network in which different agents (and doses) were treated as separate nodes. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were modeled using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods.

RESULTS

Indirect comparisons with the Bayesian model confirmed that aspirin+clopidogrel significantly increased the risk of GIB in AF patients compared to the placebo (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.01-0.92). Warfarin was identified as greatly increasing the risk of ICH compared to edoxaban 30 mg (OR 3.42, 95% CI 1.22-7.24) and dabigatran 110 mg (OR 3.56, 95% CI 1.10-8.45). We further ranked the NOACs for the lowest risk of GIB (apixaban 5 mg) and ICH (apixaban 5 mg, dabigatran 110 mg, and edoxaban 30 mg).

CONCLUSIONS

Bayesian network meta-analysis of treatment of non-valvular AF patients with anticoagulants suggested that NOACs do not increase risks of GIB and/or ICH, compared to each other.

Burden of disease from atrial fibrillation in adults from seven countries in Latin America

BACKGROUND

While some international studies have published epidemiologic overviews of atrial fibrillation (AF) for the Latin America region, detailed data at the national level are lacking. The aim of this study was to estimate the burden of disease and morbidity associated with AF in adults over 40 years of age in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.

METHODS

National health care system databases for each country in the analysis were used to identify cases of AF during 2010 based on ICD-10 codes. Patient comorbidities and treatment patterns in each country were assessed based on available data and extrapolation from relevant published information where local data were incomplete or unavailable. The prevalence of AF in each country was estimated using country-specific, national census data, and assumptions based on a review of the available literature.

RESULTS

Patients in outpatient or hospital care represented over half of the estimated total cases of AF, of whom around 60% were treated as outpatients. Across the seven countries analyzed, 74.5% of AF cases were adults ≥60 years old. However, with increasing age, the proportion of individuals with AF receiving treatment within the national health care systems decreased overall across all seven countries. The most commonly reported comorbidities associated with AF included arterial hypertension (51%-57%), heart failure (14.5%-30%), diabetes (12%-36.5%), and stroke (3%-12.7%).

CONCLUSION

This epidemiologic survey quantifies the scale of the challenge posed by AF to the various national health care systems in Latin America. Overall, ambulatory patients in the national health care systems carry a high risk of developing a stroke, yet a significant proportion of these patients do not receive appropriate anticoagulant therapy.