Racial disparities in the use of oral anticoagulants

Black patients with atrial fibrillation are significantly less likely to receive oral anticoagulants – especially the newer and more effective versions – than white and Hispanic patients, according to a new study published today in the US. JAMA Cardiology.

The first author Utibe R. Essien, MD, MPH, Adjunct Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, used the results log for a more informed treatment of Atrial Fibrillation II (ORBIT-AF II) to obtain patient data for the study. . He conducted the research during his internship at Mbadachusetts General Hospital.

Registry data for 11,100 white patients, 646 black patients and 671 Hispanic patients with atrial fibrillation, collected from February 2013 to June 2016, were included in the badysis. After controlling for clinical and socio-demographic factors, the odds of receiving oral anticoagulants were 25% lower in black patients than in their white and Hispanic counterparts, and 37% less likely to receive easier-to-use direct-acting oral anticoagulants. and probably safer. There was no difference in prescriptions between whites and Hispanics.

"For patients with atrial fibrillation, the long-term use of oral oral anticoagulants can reduce their risk of stroke. Even after adjusting our badysis to socioeconomic factors, patients Blacks were even less likely to receive this type of medication, "said Essien. "Black people with atrial fibrillation already have a higher risk of complications, so improving health literacy and reducing drug use disparities could help improve the overall quality of their care and reduce their risk. the complications. "

Many factors, including limited access to specialists, costs to pay, adherence to treatment, and implicit biases, may explain disparities in the care of patients with atrial fibrillation, but research additional information is needed to address and correct these issues.