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This study evaluated the benefits of and possible contraindications to warfarin treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) prior to the introduction of new oral anticoagulants using health registry data from inpatient care, specialist ambulatory care, and primary care.This is a cohort study including all patients in the region of Stockholm, Sweden (2.1 million inhabitants) with a diagnosis of non-valvular AF (n = 41 810) recorded during 2005-2009. The risks of suffering ischemic stroke, bleeding, or death with warfarin, aspirin, or no antithrombotic treatment during 2010 were related to CHA2DS2VASc scores, age, and complicating co-morbidities.One-year risks for ischemic stroke were 1.0-1.2 % with aspirin, 0-0.3 % with warfarin, and 0.1-0.2 % without treatment at CHA2DS2VASc scores 0-1. Among the aspirin-treated patients with CHA2DS2VASc scores ≥2, half had possible contraindications and high risks for ischemic stroke (5.2 %), bleeding (5.0 %), and death (19.3 %). The other half of the patients with no identified contraindications had a high risk for ischemic stroke (4.0 %) but a low bleeding risk (1.8 %) and a moderate mortality rate (8.4 %).The present observations confirm earlier findings of undertreatment with warfarin and half of the high-risk patients treated with aspirin were obvious candidates for anticoagulant treatment. However, the other half of the patients had complicating co-morbidities, high bleeding risk, and poor prognosis. This and possible overtreatment of low-risk patients should be taken into account when considering more aggressive use of anticoagulant treatment.

Risk factors for stroke are well known in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, while less is known on the effect of these factors on total mortality. Our aim was to study the impact of cardiovascular drug classes on mortality in AF patients treated in primary care. The study population was chosen based on patient data from 75 primary care centres in Sweden compiled in a database. Individuals diagnosed with AF who were older than 45 years were enrolled (n = 12,302, of whom 6,660 were men). Cox regression analysis with mortality (years to death) as outcome was conducted in the men and women separately, as well in the age categories < 80 and a parts per thousand yen80 years, with cardiovascular drugs as independent factors, and age, cardiovascular diagnoses and educational level as covariates. Lower mortality was shown for anticoagulant treatment among men, both younger (< 80 years) [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.43, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.31-0.61] and older (a parts per thousand yen80 years) (adjusted HR 0.47, 95 % CI 0.32-0.69), and among younger women (adjusted HR 0.46, 95 % CI 0.29-0.74), and for antiplatelet treatment in older men (adjusted HR 0.51, 95 % CI 0.35-0.74). Treatment with thiazides was associated with lower mortality among younger men (adjusted HR 0.68, 95 % CI 0.48-0.96), older men (adjusted HR 0.67, 95 % CI 0.46-0.98) and older women (adjusted HR 0.70, 95 % CI 0.52-0.94). Statins were associated with lower mortality among younger patients, in both men (adjusted HR 0.47, 95 % CI 0.32-0.68) and women (adjusted HR 0.54, 95 % CI 0.35-0.82). The differences in age and gender patterns need further exploration.

The proportion of patients with heart failure (HF) treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) is frequently used as quality indicator. This study aimed to compare agreement between different methods of calculating this quality indicator. In addition, characteristics for patients and care providers associated with a high proportion treated with ACEI or ARB were analyzed. This Swedish cross-sectional register-based study was conducted in the Stockholm region (2.1 million inhabitants). The proportion of patients with HF treated with ACEI or ARB was calculated by different methods applied on an administrative database on healthcare consumption, diagnoses, and dispensed drugs and by self-reported data from all primary care centers in the region. A total of 32,677 patients recorded with a HF diagnosis 2008–2012 and alive July–December 2012 were identified. The proportion treated with ACEI or ARB varied depending on observation period and care provider included (range register 52–74 %). There was a large variation between different primary care centers (range register 36–88 %, range self-reported 8–100 %) and a poor agreement between methods (Bland-Altman; rhoc range 0.07–0.23). Predictors for high proportion treated were low age, high socioeconomic status, cardiovascular comorbidity, and diagnosis recorded both in primary care and in hospitals. There is poor agreement between different methods to evaluate adherence to guidelines for drug treatment in HF. Differences between practices concerning patient age, socioeconomic status, comorbidity, and care given by different providers should be taken into account in quality assessment.

Objective. To describe, and compare between 1995 and 2001, the distribution of prescribed drugs in diabetic men and women. Methods. Two cross-sectional surveys of medical records of diabetic patients with type-2 diabetes were carried out in two primary health care centres in Stockholm County; age 35–64 years; 59 men and 43 women in 1995, and 80 men and 80 women in 2001. Prescriptions of pharmaceutical preparations, metabolic outcome, cardiovascular risk factors and diabetes-related co-morbidity were noted. Correlation of significant outcomes was performed using logistic regression. Results. The pattern of antidiabetic therapy changed between 1995 and 2001 (P=0.001), with fewer subjects treated with insulin (15% vs 3%), and more subjects with tablets and insulin combined (13% vs 23%). Prescription rate of sulphonylureas decreased (54% vs 41%; P=0.035), and rate of metformin increased (34% vs 48%; P=0.035). The use of lipid-lowering agents rose from 14% to 37% (P

Objective: Assessing the quality of anticoagulant (AC) treatment in primary health care with regard to safety. Design: Surveys of patients on AC treatment during 1999. Setting: Community health centres (CHCs) in the north-eastern region of Stockholm County. Subjects: Nine hundred and fifty-seven patients, from 16 CHCs. Main outcome measures: Rate of bleeding and thrombo-embolic events during AC treatment and rate of values within the recommended treatment interval. The reporting of prothrombin-time (PT) results changed during the year from PT values to international normalised ratio (INR). Results: A total of 48 bleeding events in 44 patients were noted, i.e. 6.8 per 100 patient-years. Of these, ten were major bleedings, 1.4 per 100 patient-years, including three fatal bleedings, 0.4 per 100 patient-years. Six thrombo-embolic events were noted during treatment, i.e. 0.8 per 100 patient-years. Bleeding events were more common at INR values greater than 2.80 than at values of 2.80, [relative risk (RR) 3.30, 95% confidence interval 1.90–5.71]. Of all the noted PT values, 65% were within the recommended intervals (the most common being PT 15–25%) and of all noted INR values 60% (the most common being INR 2.1–3.0). No differences in the rate of bleeding or the number of thrombo-embolic events between the periods of PT and INR results were found. Conclusions: The rate of complications was low and AC treatment in primary health care seems to be as safe as in hospital clinics.

Objective: To describe and compare the distribution of prescribed drugs in diabetic patients between 1992 and 1995. Methods: Two cross-sectional surveys of a random selection of medical records of diabetic patients, from three community health centres (CHCs) in the Stockholm metropolitan area, were carried out. The age of the subjects ranged from 20 to 84 years. The number of prescriptions of pharmaceutical preparations given to the diabetic patients was noted, as well as classification of the diabetes, the metabolic outcome, and concomitant hypertension. Results: Between 1992 and 1995, the use of oral antidiabetics increased significantly from 43 to 57% of the patients and the rate of treatment with diet only decreased from 30 to 20%. Combination treatment with oral drugs and insulin rose significantly from 1 to 8% of the patients. However, the greatest increase observed between 1992 and 1995 concerns cardiovascular drugs. The prescription rate of ACE inhibitors increased from 5 to 21%, of loop diuretics from 19 to 28%, of ASA from 9 to 21%, and of lipid-lowering agents from 1 to 7%. There was also a considerable variation between the three CHCs. Despite the more aggressive diabetic treatment strategies, the metabolic state was unchanged and unsatisfactory for 40–50% of the patients. Conclusions: There have been major changes towards more active pharmacological treatment regarding antidiabetic, cardiovascular, and lipid-lowering agents.

Little is known about prescription trends in atrial fibrillation (AF) in primary health care in Sweden. The aim was to study time trends in pharmacotherapy, in men and women with AF. We also aimed at studying doctors' adherence to CHADS2 for prescribing warfarin. CHADS2 assesses stroke risk by presence of known risk factors, i.e., congestive heart failure, hypertension, age > 75 years, diabetes, previous stroke and transient ischemic attack. Data were obtained from primary health care records that contained individual clinical data. In total, 371,036 patients were included in the sample from 2002, and 424,329 patients were included in the sample from 2007. The study population consisted of individuals aged 45+ years who were diagnosed with AF in 2002 (1,330 men and 1,096 women) and 2007 (2,748 men and 2,234 women). The pharmacotherapies prescribed in 2002 and 2007 were analyzed separately in men and women. Logistic regression was used to calculate the association between the CHADS2 score and prescribed warfarin treatment. Selective beta-blockers, anti-coagulant therapy and lipid-lowering drugs were prescribed more frequently in 2007 than in 2002. In 2007, antithrombotic and RAS-blocking agents were prescribed more frequently to men, whereas beta-1 selective beta-blockers were prescribed more frequently to women. There was no consistent association between the CHADS2 score and prescribed warfarin treatment. Pharmacotherapy of AF has improved over time, though CHADS2 guidelines need to be implemented systematically in primary health care in Sweden to decrease the risk of stroke and improve quality of life in patients with AF.