The Italian experience: DOAC more cost-effective than VKA

Receiving treatment for stroke prevention is common practice for atrial fibrillation (AF) patients who are at high risk of thromboembolic events. Since the availability of direct oral anticoagulation (DOAC), the treatment landscape for stroke prevention in AF patients has changed considerably, although the perception of higher costs may play a role in prescribing DOAC. Yet, 4-year trends in an Italian retrospective study suggests DOAC treatment might actually lower healthcare costs. Dr Aldo Pietro Maggioni (Research Center of the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists, Italy) and colleagues assessed the rates of hospitalisations for AF, ischaemic stroke and major haemorrhages, prescriptions for oral anticoagulation (i.e. both vitamin K antagonists [VKA] and DOACs), and antiplatelet agents over a 4-year period from 2012 to 2015 [1]. Also included was an evaluation of yearly costs per patient with AF for the Italian National Health Service (INHS). The...

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Posted on 10 October, 2019