BACKGROUND Evidence of adherence and persistence patterns in anticoagulation (AC) therapy comparing treatment-na€ ıve and non-na€ ıve patients is lacking. The objective of this study was to evaluate patterns of medication adherence and persistence in a real-world setting among AC-na€ ıve and ACexperienced patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who were treated with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). METHODS AF patients newly initiating a DOAC with a minimum of 6 months of continuous health plan enrollment pre and postindex date (first DOAC prescription) were identified from the Truven Health MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental databases (2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013). DOAC adherence (proportion of days covered [PDC]), persistence, and predictors of adherence were assessed at 6 and 12 months postindex. RESULTS Of 66,090 AF patients included, 46.6% (n=30,826) were AC na€ ıve and 53. 4% (n=35,264) were AC experienced (age: 66.9 AE 12.7 vs 70.4 AE 11.4 yrs, p<0.001; male: n=19,132 [62.1%] vs n=21,691 [61.5%], p=0.14, respectively). A majority of patients received dabigatran as their index DOAC (n=49,210; 74.5%). The mean PDC in AC-na€ ıve versus AC-experienced patients at 6 and 12 months of follow-up was 72.3% versus 83.3% (p<0.001) and 63.7% versus 79.9% (p<0.001), respectively. Persistence with DOAC therapy in AC-na€ ıve and AC-experienced patients at 6 and 12 months ranged from 59.3% and 76.3% (p<0.0001) to 31.6% and 50.2% (p<0.0001), respectively. Predictors of higher DOAC adherence were older age and higher number of concomitant medications. Predictors of lower adherence were higher number of comorbidities and AC-na€ ıve user status. CONCLUSION Medication adherence and persistence with DOACs declined over time and both were suboptimal and lower (at 6 and 12 mo postindex) in AC-na€ ıve compared to AC-experienced patients. These findings can help target future strategies or interventions for patient education and long-term AC management especially in those patients na€ ıve to DOAC therapy. Future investigation should examine potential reasons for differences in DOAC adherence and persistence between AC-experienced versus AC-na€ ıve patients and the implications for patient outcomes.

Objectives The older adult population in the United States (U.S.) uses multiple medications and more than half of older adults drink alcohol regularly. In addition, older adults are more likely to experience adverse effects of medications and alcohol consumption may put them at higher risk. Our primary objective is to characterize the extent and nature of drug-alcohol interactions among older adults in the U.S. Design, Setting, Participants, Measurements We used a nationally-representative population-based sample of community-dwelling older adults in the U.S. Regular drinkers were defined as respondents that consumed alcohol at least weekly. Medication use was defined as the use of a prescription or non-prescription medication or dietary supplement at least daily or weekly. Micromedex was used to determine drug interactions with alcohol and their corresponding severity. Results Among the 2,975 older adults in the sample, more than 41% (N=1106) consume alcohol regularly and more than 20% (N=567) are at-risk for a drug-alcohol interaction because they are regular drinkers and concurrently using alcohol interacting medications. More than 90% of these interactions were of moderate or major severity. Antidepressants and analgesics were the most commonly used alcohol-interacting medications among regular drinkers. Older adult men with multiple chronic conditions had the highest prevalence of potential drug-alcohol interactions. Conclusion The potential for drug-alcohol interactions among the older adult population in the U.S. may have important clinical implications. Efforts to better understand and prevent the use of alcohol-interacting medications among regular drinkers, particularly heavy drinkers, are warranted in this population.

Compared with routine care, pharmacist-managed outpatient-based anticoagulation services attained better quality of anticoagulation control, lower bleeding and thromboembolic events, and resulted in lower health care utilization.

Real-world evidence focusing on medication switching patterns amongst direct oral anticoagulant (DOACs) has not been well studied. The objective of this study is to evaluate patterns of prescription switching in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients initiated on a DOAC and previously naïve to anticoagulation (AC) therapy. Data was obtained from Truven Health MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental database (2009-2013). AC naïve (those without prior anticoagulant use) NVAF patients initiated on a DOAC, with 6 months of continuous health plan enrollment before and after treatment initiation and maintained on continuous therapy for a minimum of 6 months were included. Of 34,022 AC naïve NVAF patients initiating a DOAC, 6613 (19.4%) patients switched from an index DOAC prescription to an alternate anticoagulant and 27,409 (80.6%) remained on the DOAC [age: 68.5 ± 11.7 vs. 67.1 ± 12.7 years, p < 0.001; males: 3781 (57.2%) vs. 17,160 (62.6%), p < 0.001]. Amongst those that switched medication, 3196 (48.3%) did so within the first 6 months of therapy. Overall, 2945 (44.5%) patients switched to warfarin, 2912 (44.0%) switched to another DOAC and 756 (11.4%) switched to an injectable anticoagulant. The highest proportion of patients switched from dabigatran to warfarin (N = 2320; 42.5%) or rivaroxaban (N = 2252; 41.3%). The median time to switch from the index DOAC to another DOAC was 309.5 days versus 118.0 days (p < 0.001) to switch to warfarin. In NVAF patients newly initiated on DOAC therapy, one in five patients switch to an alternate anticoagulant and one of every two patients do so within the first 6 months of therapy. Switching from an initial DOAC prescription to traditional anticoagulants occurs as frequently as switching to an alternate DOAC.

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