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Introduction: Atrial fibrillation is the most prevalent persistent dysrhythmia, contributing to a significant social and economic burden. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the association between oral anticoagulant use and the incidence of stroke associated with atrial fibrillation, in mainland Portugal., Methods: The number of episodes of inpatient care with a main diagnosis of stroke and an additional diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, occurring monthly between January 2012 and December 2018, in individuals aged 18 years or over, was extracted from the hospital morbidity database. The number of patients with an atrial fibrillation code documented in this database was used as a proxy for the prevalence of known atrial fibrillation. The number of anticoagulated patients was estimated from total medicine sales of vitamin K antagonists and novel oral anticoagulants (apixaban, dabigatran, edoxaban and rivaroxaban) in mainland Portugal. Descriptive analyses were performed, and seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) models were built using the R software., Results: The mean number of episodes of stroke per month was 522 (± 57). The number of anticoagulated patients increased gradually from 68 943 to 180 389 per month. The decreasing trend in the number of episodes has been observed since 2016, along with the increased use of new oral anticoagulants compared to vitamin K antagonists. The final model indicated that the increase in oral anticoagulation use between 2012 and 2018, in mainland Portugal, was associated with a decrease in the number of episodes of stroke associated with atrial fibrillation. It was estimated that the shift in the type of anticoagulation used, between 2016 and 2018, was associated with a reduction of 833 episodes of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (4.2%)., Conclusion: The use of oral anticoagulation was associated with a reduced incidence of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation in mainland Portugal. This reduction was more relevant in the period between 2016 and 2018, and is probably related with the introduction of the novel oral anticoagulants.

Introduction: Among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development members, Portugal has the highest reported consumption of anxiolytics, hypnotics, and sedatives, of which a large proportion are benzodiazepines or related drugs. These are known to cause tolerance and dependence. Other drugs with hypnotic effect, such as antidepressants, antihistamines, antipsychotics, or anticonvulsants have been identified by some reports as alternatives to benzodiazepines for the treatment of insomnia. In this regard, the aim of this study was to characterize the consumption of benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine anxiolytic, hypnotic or sedative effect drugs and other drugs with the potential to be used off-label to treat insomnia, and the results concerning benzodiazepine consumption related indicators in the primary health care setting in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region., Material and Methods: From 2013 to 2020, a census, descriptive and retrospective study was conducted. The evolution of the variables total defined daily doses, defined daily doses per 1000 inhabitants per day (DHD) and relevant indicators were characterized. Data were extracted from the SIARS platform used in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley regional Health Administration., Results: There was a decrease in the consumption of benzodiazepines (from 57.44 to 63.11 DHD) and an increase of non-benzodiazepines and of drugs with potential off-label use (from 6.56 to 8.56 DHD and from 14.70 to 25.95 DHD, respectively). Among non-benzodiazepines, zolpidem was the most consumed drug, also showing an increasing trend (from 4.86 to 6.96 DHD). For the group of drugs with off-label use potential, there was an increased consumption of trazodone (from 3.81 to 7.92 DHD), mirtazapine (from 3.52 to 6.48 DHD), pregabalin (from 3.15 to 4.87 DHD), quetiapine (from 2.68 to 4.59 DHD) and gabapentin (from 1.32 to 1.90 DHD), which was only the case (or, at least, more significantly) for the lower dose formulations. The median of results of the Primary Health Care setting indicator "proportion of elderly patients without prescription of sedatives, anxiolytics, and hypnotics", was 81.0 in 2015 and increased to 84.9 in 2020. For the indicator "proportion of patients without prolonged prescription of sedatives, anxiolytics, and hypnotics", the median was 93.6 in 2019 and 94.3 in 2020., Conclusion: There was, overall, a decreasing trend in the dispensing of benzodiazepines in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region. Even though this data suggests a change in the therapeutic pattern for insomnia, more robust studies are needed to confirm this observation.

Influenza infections are associated to increased risk of cardiovascular events. The systematic review of Cochrane Collaboration evaluated the role of influenza vaccination on primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. The meta-analysis of four randomized controlled trials with moderate quality, including 1 682 patients with coronary artery disease, showed a 55% risk reduction on cardiovascular mortality. Data evaluating the role of vaccination in primary cardiovascular prevention were not robust. Portuguese and international recommendations for influenza vaccination in patients with coronary artery disease are then supported by this systematic review.

Thrombotic and embolic events contribute to the morbidity and mortality associated to Chronic Heart Failure (HF). Differently from patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and HF, in which the benefit of anticoagulation is well documented, the use of these drugs in those with HF in sinus rhythm (without AF history) is controversial. In this systematic review from the Cochrane Collaboration, the authors evaluated the benefits and risks associated with oral anticoagulation (versus placebo) in this population. Only 2 randomized controlled trials were published (one with open-label design) enrolling a total of 324 patients. The results of the meta-analysis based on the best available evidence do not support the systematic use of oral anticoagulants in patients with HF and sinus rhythm for preventing death (overall or cardiovascular) or non-fatal cardiovascular events. Furthermore the major bleeding risk was significantly increased.

Unlabelled: In the present article we evaluate and comment the systematic review from Cochrane Collaboration "Effect of longer-term modest salt reduction on blood pressure. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Apr 30;4:CD004937"., Clinical Question: What is the impact of long-term (= 4 weeks) modest salt (sodium chloride) reduction on arterial blood pressure?, Conclusions: This systematic review concluded that a moderate reduction in salt intake (mean reduction -4.4 g per day) resulted in statistically significant decreases in blood pressure (BP) that may be helpful in normotensive (-2.42 mmHg systolic BP; -1.00 mmHg diastolic BP) and hypertensive patients (-5.39 mmHg systolic BP; -2.82 mmHg diastolic BP). There were slight increases in physiological plasma renin activity, aldosterone and norepinephrine, without significant changes in lipid profile.