Abstract Number: PB2094
Meeting: ISTH 2020 Congress
Theme: Venous Thromboembolism and Cardioembolism » Atrial Fibrillation
Background: Warfarin is the most widely used anticoagulant in low and middle income countries. Adherence to treatment, knowledge concerning warfarin therapy and health literacy are directed related to the success of patient control. The “Anticoagula Divinópolis” Project aims to implement an anticoagulation system of care in a medium income city in Minas Gerais, Southeast Brazil, to improve rates of control and reduce the incidence of thromboembolic and hemorrhagic events.
Aims: To assess the profile of primary care patients on warfarin therapy followed up in primary care units (PCU), prior to the implementation of the program.
Methods: Retrospective study, which assessed adult patients using warfarin in 20 PCU from May/18 to May/19. Clinical, socio-demographic, and other features involving warfarin were evaluated, as well as the following tests: Oral Anticoagulation Knowledge (OAK) Test; measurement of adherence to treatment (adapted MAT test) and evaluation of health literacy (Short Assessment of Health Literacy For Portuguese-Speaking Adults – SAHLPA-18).
Results: The 117 patients included were 65±12 years old on average, and 56.4% were women. The main indications for anticoagulation were atrial fibrillation (AF – 33.0%), venous thromboembolism (25.0%) and mechanical valve prosthesis (17.0%). In 15.9% of the cases, the reason for anticoagulation was not registered. In all AF cases, the CHADS2Vasc or HAS-BLED scores were not registered in the patient records. By the adapted MAT, 85.1% of the patients are adherent to therapy. There were 52.0% of correct answers in the OAK Test, reflecting patients´ insufficient knowledge about warfarin therapy, and 71.8% had insufficient health literacy by the SAHLPA-18 score.
Conclusions: Patients have inadequate health literacy and insufficient knowledge about warfarin therapy, and the medical team is unaware of the importance of assessing thromboembolic risk. These data are essential for developing strategies to improve anticoagulation control.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Oliveira J, Resende R, Sales T, Silva L, Nogueira L, Mota K, Enes T, Baldoni A, Martins M, Cardoso C, Ribeiro A, Marcolino M. Profile of Patients Using Oral Anticoagulants in Primary Care: ‘Anticoagula Divinópolis” Project [abstract]. Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2020; 4 (Suppl 1). https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/profile-of-patients-using-oral-anticoagulants-in-primary-care-anticoagula-divinopolis-project/. Accessed October 2, 2023.« Back to ISTH 2020 Congress
ISTH Congress Abstracts - https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/profile-of-patients-using-oral-anticoagulants-in-primary-care-anticoagula-divinopolis-project/