Importance: Age appropriateness of anticoagulants for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) is uncertain.Objective: To review oral anticoagulants (OAC) for AF in older (age >65y) people, to classify appropriate and inappropriate drugs based on efficacy, safety and tolerability using the Fit-fOR-The-Aged (FORTA) classification.Evidence: We performed a structured comprehensive review of controlled clinical trials and summaries of individual product characteristics to assess study and total patient numbers, quality of major outcome data and data of geriatric relevance. The resulting evidence was discussed in a round table with an interdisciplinary panel of ten European experts. Decisions on age appropriateness were made using a Delphi process.Findings: For the 8 drugs included, 380 citations were identified. The primary outcome results were reported in 32 clinical trials with explicit and relevant data on older people. Though over 24000 patients aged >75/80 were studied for warfarin, data on geriatric syndromes were rare (2 studies reporting on frailty/falls/mental status), and missing for all other compounds. Apixaban was rated FORTA-A (highly beneficial). Other non-vitamin K antagonist OACs [NOACs] (including low/high-intensity dabigatran and high-intensity edoxaban) and warfarin were assigned to FORTA-B (beneficial). Phenprocoumon, acenocoumarol and fluindione were rated FORTA-C (questionable) mainly reflecting the absence of data.
Conclusions: All NOACs and warfarin were classified as beneficial or very beneficial in older persons (FORTA-A or-B) underlining the overall positive assessment of the risk/benefit ratio for these drugs. For other vitamin-Kantagonists regionally used in Europe the lack of evidence should challenge current practice.
KEY WORDSOlder people; Oral Anticoagulants; Atrial fibrillation; Effectiveness; Tolerability; FORTA Fit For The Aged.
KEY POINTS
Age appropriateness of chronically used anticoagulants to treat atrial fibrillation is still uncertain. Using a structured comprehensive approach including a literature search and subsequent Delphi process, an interdisciplinary expert group rated the appropriateness of oral anticoagulants for long-term treatment of atrial fibrillation in older people with regard to efficacy, tolerability, and safety.
In older people the majority of these drugs, the non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants and warfarin, are seen to be beneficial or very beneficial while regionally used older vitamin K antagonists should be used with caution as evidence is missing.
The evidence basis for the use of these drugs in older people regarding geriatric syndromes is very limited.
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