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BackgroundAn increasing number of patients have received prophylactic or therapeutic oral anticoagulants (OACs) for thromboembolic complications of diseases. The use of OACs is associated with both clinical benefits and risks. Considering the challenges imposed by this class of drugs, as well as the enormous progress made in portable device technology, it is possible that technology-based interventions may improve clinical benefits for patients and optimize anticoagulation management. ObjectiveThis study was designed to comprehensively evaluate the role of technology-based interventions in the management of OACs. MethodsWe searched 6 databases—PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Scopus, and PsycINFO—to retrieve relevant studies published as of November 1, 2019, to evaluate the effect of technology-based interventions on oral anticoagulation management. RevMan (version 5.3; Cochrane) software was used to evaluate and analyze clinical outcomes. The methodological quality of studies was assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias tool. ResultsA total of 15 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected for analysis. They reported data for 2218 patients (1110 patients in the intervention groups and 1108 patients in the control groups). A meta-analysis was performed on the effectiveness and safety data reported in the RCTs. Technology-based interventions significantly improved the effectiveness of oral anticoagulation management (mean difference [MD]=6.07; 95% CI 0.84-11.30; I2=72%; P=.02). The safety of oral anticoagulation management was also improved, but the results were not statistically significant. Bleeding events were reduced (major bleeding events MD=1.02; 95% CI 0.78-1.32; I2=0%; P=.90; minor bleeding events MD=1.06, 95% CI 0.77-1.44; I2=41%; P=.73) and thromboembolism events were reduced (MD=0.71; 95% CI 0.49-1.01; I2=0%; P=.06). In general, patients were more satisfied with technology-based interventions, which could also improve their knowledge of anticoagulation management, improve their quality of life, and reduce mortality and hospitalization events. ConclusionsUsing technology to manage OACs can improve the effectiveness and safety of oral anticoagulation management, result in higher patient satisfaction, and allow greater understanding of anticoagulation.

Aims Many people diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF) may lack awareness of AF and anticoagulants. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of intensive, targeted education by pharmacists on anticoagulant patients with AF. Methods and results Three hundred seventy-six AF patients were randomly assigned to receive standard care or pharmacist education. Follow-up is scheduled after 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. Pharmacists provided intensive education on knowledge deficits revealed by the Jessa Atrial fibrillation Knowledge Questionnaire (JAKQ) during each visit. Patients also completed two questionnaires to assess their medication adherence and satisfaction. Clinical outcomes were recorded during follow-up. Three hundred sixty-one patients completed follow-up. Baseline scores on the JAKQ were similar in the education group (median: 31.3%) and the standard care group (median: 31.3%) (P = 0.911). Over time, the knowledge score of the education group increased significantly (1 month: 68.8%, 3 months: 81.3%; P < 0.001), while there was no significant improvement in the standard care group (1 month: 37.5%, 3 months: 37.5%; P = 0.314). Adherence scores improved significantly over time in the education group (P < 0.001) but not in the standard care group (P = 0.101). Compared with standard care, pharmacist education was associated with a significantly lower risk of bleeding (P = 0.034). Conclusion Given the knowledge deficiency of AF patients in China, standardized patient education should be a part of their daily care. Pharmacist-led education intervention can significantly improve the disease-related knowledge, medication adherence, and drug treatment satisfaction of AF patients while significantly reducing the risk of bleeding. Registration ChiCTR1900024455. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: As the direct oral anticoagulant most recently approved in China, data pertaining to clinical edoxaban use are still scarce. This study investigated the prevalence of and contemporary trends in edoxaban prescription among Chinese patients as well as factors associated with its inappropriate use in a multicentre registry of patients treated in real‐world clinical practice. Methods: This real‐world, prospective, multicentre and non‐interventional study included 1005 inpatients treated with edoxaban. According to National Medical Products Administration and European Heart Rhythm Association guidelines, edoxaban therapy was determined to be appropriate or inappropriate in each case. Results: The median patient age was 70.0 years (interquartile range 61.0‐78.0 years) and 46.3% were women. Overall, 456 (45.4%) patients received inappropriate edoxaban therapy, and common issues included an inappropriately low dosage (183, 18.2%) or wrong drug selection (109, 10.8%), high dosage (73, 7.3%), unreasonable off‐label use (49, 4.9%), contraindicated medication combinations (27, 2.7%) and incorrect administration timing (16, 1.6%). Several factors, such as age ≥75 years (odds ratio [OR] = 1.921, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.355‐2.723, P < 0.001), weight >60 kg (OR = 2.657, 95%CI 1.970‐3.583, P < 0.001), severe renal insufficiency (OR = 1.988, 95% CI 1.043‐3.790, P = 0.037), current anaemia (OR = 1.556, 95% CI 1.151‐2.102, P = 0.004) and history of bleeding (OR = 2.931, 95% CI 1.605‐5.351, P < 0.001) were associated with an increased risk of inappropriate edoxaban therapy, whereas factors associated with cardiovascular specialties, such as admission to a cardiovascular department (OR = 0.637, 95% CI 0.464‐0.873, P = 0.005), dronedarone use (OR = 0.065, 95% CI 0.026‐0.165, P < 0.001) and amiodarone use (OR = 0.365, 95% CI 0.209‐0.637, P < 0.001) decreased this risk. Conclusion: In this real‐world study, 45.4% of patients received an inappropriate treatment with edoxaban. Multiple clinical characteristics can help identify patients who should receive edoxaban. Further development and implantation of educational activities and management strategies are needed to ensure the correct use of edoxaban. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether there are differences in direct oral anticoagulants efficacy and safety in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) combined with hypertension is unclear. We therefore conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study to assess the differences in the efficacy and safety of direct oral anticoagulants in patients with AF combined with hypertension. This multicenter retrospective cohort study was based on data from 15 centers in China and included 2086 patients with AF. We divided the patients into dabigatran and rivaroxaban groups according to their direct oral anticoagulants. Propensity score matching was used to balance the covariates between the groups. Due to our limited sample size, the number of cases of some clinical events with low incidence was small. During a mean follow‐up period of 10 months, a total of 268 (12.9%) bleeding events occurred, including 27 (1.3%) major bleeding events and 241 (11.6%) minor bleeding events, and 45 (2.2%) thromboembolic events. In patients with AF combined with hypertension, rivaroxaban was associated with a higher major bleeding incidence than dabigatran (odds ratio [OR], 2.89 [95% confidence interval [CI, 1.22‐6.87]; P =.012). In contrast, the risk of thromboembolism and minor bleeding was similar for rivaroxaban (OR, 0.55 [95%CI, 0.29‐1.01]; P =.069) and dabigatran (OR, 0.82 [95%CI, 0.63‐1.08]; P =.150). Based on the results of this study, in patients with AF and hypertension treated with direct oral anticoagulants, the incidence of thromboembolism and minor bleeding was not statistically different between dabigatran and rivaroxaban, but compared with rivaroxaban, dabigatran was associated with a lower risk of major bleeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An increasing number of patients have received prophylactic or therapeutic oral anticoagulants (OACs) for thromboembolic complications of diseases. The use of OACs is associated with both clinical benefits and risks. Considering the challenges imposed by this class of drugs, as well as the enormous progress made in portable device technology, it is possible that technology-based interventions may improve clinical benefits for patients and optimize anticoagulation management.Objective: This study was designed to comprehensively evaluate the role of technology-based interventions in the management of OACs.Methods: We searched 6 databases-PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Scopus, and PsycINFO-to retrieve relevant studies published as of November 1, 2019, to evaluate the effect of technology-based interventions on oral anticoagulation management. RevMan (version 5.3; Cochrane) software was used to evaluate and analyze clinical outcomes. The methodological quality of studies was assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias tool.Results: A total of 15 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected for analysis. They reported data for 2218 patients (1110 patients in the intervention groups and 1108 patients in the control groups). A meta-analysis was performed on the effectiveness and safety data reported in the RCTs. Technology-based interventions significantly improved the effectiveness of oral anticoagulation management (mean difference [MD]=6.07; 95% CI 0.84-11.30; I2=72%; P=.02). The safety of oral anticoagulation management was also improved, but the results were not statistically significant. Bleeding events were reduced (major bleeding events MD=1.02; 95% CI 0.78-1.32; I2=0%; P=.90; minor bleeding events MD=1.06, 95% CI 0.77-1.44; I2=41%; P=.73) and thromboembolism events were reduced (MD=0.71; 95% CI 0.49-1.01; I2=0%; P=.06). In general, patients were more satisfied with technology-based interventions, which could also improve their knowledge of anticoagulation management, improve their quality of life, and reduce mortality and hospitalization events.Conclusions: Using technology to manage OACs can improve the effectiveness and safety of oral anticoagulation management, result in higher patient satisfaction, and allow greater understanding of anticoagulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are limited data about the clinical benefits and harm of oral anticoagulants (OACs) for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and chronic kidney disease using CKD-EPI (Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration) creatinine equation for glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation in nuanced GFR stratification. We conducted a retrospective study in 12 centers in China and included 9,510 patients with AF. We grouped patients into the following estimated GFR (eGFR) categories: ≥60 (n = 7,616), 45 to 59 (n = 1,139), 30 to 44 (n = 474), and <30 (n = 281) ml/min/1.73 m 2 . Logistic regression was used to the compare risks of major bleeding, minor bleeding, total bleeding, thrombosis, and all-cause deaths in patients with AF with eGFR 45 to 59, 30 to 44, <30 ml/min/1.73 m 2 , and ≥60 ml/min/1.73 m 2 after taking OACs. Patients with AF treated with OACs with eGFR 45 to 59, 30 to 44, and <30 ml/min/1.73 m 2 had a significantly increased risk of all-cause deaths compared with eGFR ≥60 ml/min/1.73 m 2 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.326, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.049 to 1.665, p = 0.016; aOR 1.634, 95% CI 1.197 to 2.200, p = 0.002; aOR 2.492, 95% CI 1.766 to 3.471, p <0.001; respectively). Higher eGFR was associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cause deaths (aOR 0.990, 95% CI 0.986 to 0.994, p <0.001) and major bleeding (aOR 0.988, 95% CI 0.979 to 0.998, p = 0.018). Direct OACs remarkably reduced risk of major bleeding in those with eGFR 30 to 44 ml/min/1.73 m 2 compared with warfarin. In conclusion, in patients with AF treated with OACs, patients with eGFR 45 to 59, 30 to 44, and <30 ml/min/1.73 m 2 had a significantly increased risk of all-cause deaths compared with eGFR ≥60 ml/min/1.73 m 2 , and the risk of all-cause deaths increased with decreasing eGFR. Direct OACs are at least safe alternatives to warfarin in patients with AF with eGFR 30 to 44 ml/min/1.73 m 2 ., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Studies on the use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE) in hospitalized cancer patients are lacking. Therefore, we conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DOACs versus low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) for the primary prevention of VTE in hospitalized cancer patients., Methods: Clinical outcomes included thrombosis, VTE, other thrombosis, all bleeding, major bleeding, nonmajor bleeding, and all-cause death. A 1:1 cohort of rivaroxaban and LMWH patients was created by propensity score matching., Results: A total of 2,385 cancer patients were included in this study. During the 3-month follow-up period, 129 (5.4%) thrombosis events occurred, 63 (2.7%) of which were VTEs and 66 (2.8%) of which were other thrombosis events. All bleeding occurred in 163 (6.8%) patients, 68 (2.9%) had major bleeding, and 95 (4.0%) had nonmajor bleeding. All-cause deaths occurred in 113 (4.7%) patients. After adjusting for various confounders, the incidence of thrombosis and other thromboses was significantly lower in the rivaroxaban group than in the LMWH group [OR 0.543, 95% CI (0.343-0.859), p = 0.009; OR 0.461, 95% CI (0.241-0.883), p = 0.020]. There were no significant differences in incidence of VTE, total bleeding, major bleeding, nonmajor bleeding, or all-cause death., Conclusion: In oncology patients receiving thromboprophylaxis, rivaroxaban has a lower incidence of thrombosis and other thrombosis and a similar incidence of VTE as LMWH and does not increase the risk of bleeding. Rivaroxaban may be an attractive alternative to LMWH for preventing VTE in hospitalized cancer patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wu, Wang, Li, Tao, Zhu, Dai, Duan, Hu, Li, Qu, Wei, Wang and Zhang.)

Background and Aims: Immune-mediated liver injury is a fatal side effect of sintilimab. This study aimed to shed light on the associated risk factors and characteristics of this adverse event., Methods: The clinical records of 772 patients treated with sintilimab were retrospectively reviewed to investigate risk factors associated with sintilimab immune-related hepatotoxicity, as well as its incidence and outcome. The Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method was used to identify cases of sintilimab-induced hepatotoxicity. Furthermore, logistic regressions were performed to compare the clinical and bloodwork characteristics of patients with and without immune-mediated liver injury caused by checkpoint inhibitors., Results: Of the 585 patients included in the study, 71 (12.1%) developed liver injury during sintilimab use. The median RUCAM score with interquartile range was 7 (6, 8). Hypoproteinemia, dyslipidemia, and the presence of thyroid peroxidase antibodies were risk factors for sintilimab-related hepatotoxicity. A nomogram model was constructed for sintilimab-induced immune-mediated liver injury based on these risk factors, which had a C-index value of 0.713 and a good calibration curve. When applied to patients with grade ≥3 and ≥4 sintilimab-induced immune-mediated liver injury, it achieved C-index values of 0.752 and 0.811, respectively. The nomogram model also showed a good prediction potential in patients ≥65 years and males. Six of the patients with sintilimab-related hepatotoxicity showed improved liver function upon treatment with steroids., Conclusions: This study demonstrated that hypoproteinemia, dyslipidemia, and the presence of thyroid peroxidase antibodies were clinically feasible prognostic biomarkers to predict liver injury in patients treated with sintilimab., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflict of interests related to this publication., (© 2023 Authors.)

Objective: A meta-analysis of the studies involving Sacubitril/Valsartan in chronic heart failure was performed to compare the efficacy and safety of Sacubitril/Valsartan with traditional drug therapy in chronic heart failure., Methods: We searched databases from PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and clinicaltrials.gov for studies published between 2010 and 2020 that reported efficacy and safety following Sacubitril/Valsartan administration., Results: Ten studies enrolling 1689 patients were included. Sacubitril/Valsartan outperformed traditional medicine (especially the Non-ARNI group) in terms of blood pressure, biomarkers and cardiac reverse remodeling indices, with striking changes in left ventricular ejection fraction, systolic blood pressure. Sacubitril/Valsartan showed significant benefit in renal function in patients with chronic heart failure., Conclusions: Compared with traditional drugs, Sacubitril/Valsartan significantly improved echocardiography, vital signs and biomarkers of patients with chronic heart failure, and reduced the incidence of hyperkalemia, renal dysfunction and other adverse reactions. Further large sample trials are needed in the future to determine the long-term effects of Sacubitril/Valsartan on efficacy and safety in patients with chronic heart failure., Competing Interests: None., (AJTR Copyright © 2021.)