Oral anticoagulant prescribing among patients with cancer and atrial fibrillation in England, 2009–2019:OAC prescribing in AF patients with cancer

BACKGROUND: Anticoagulation of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and cancer is challenging because of their high risk for stroke and bleeding. Little is known of the variations of oral anticoagulant (OAC) prescribing in patients with AF with and without cancer.METHODS: Patients with first-time AF during 2009-2019 from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink were included. Cancer diagnosis was defined as a history of breast, prostate, colorectal, lung, or hematological cancer. Competing-risk analysis was used to assess the risk of OAC prescribing in patients with AF and cancer adjusted for clinical and sociodemographic factors.RESULTS: Of 177,065 patients with AF, 11.7% had cancer. Compared to patients without cancer, patients with cancer were less likely to receive OAC: prostate cancer (subhazard ratio [SHR], 0.95; 95% CI, 0.91-0.99), breast cancer (SHR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89-0.98), colorectal cancer (SHR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88-0.99), hematological cancer (SHR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.65-0.75), and lung cancer (SHR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.38-0.50). The cumulative incidence function (CIF) of OAC prescribing was lowest for patients with lung cancer and hematological cancer compared with patients without cancer. The difference between the CIF of OAC prescribing in patients with and without cancer becomes narrower in the most deprived areas. Elderly patients (aged ≥85 years) overall had the lowest CIF of OAC prescribing regardless of cancer status.CONCLUSIONS: In patients with AF, underprescribing of OAC is independently associated with certain cancer types. Patients with hematological and lung cancer are the least likely to receive anticoagulation therapy compared with patients without cancer. Underprescribing of OAC in cancer is linked to old age. Further studies of patients with AF and cancer are warranted to assess the net clinical benefit of anticoagulation in certain cancer types.</p

Development and validation of the DIabetes Severity SCOre (DISSCO) in 139 626 individuals with type 2 diabetes: a retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE: Clinically applicable diabetes severity measures are lacking, with no previous studies comparing their predictive value with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). We developed and validated a type 2 diabetes severity score (the DIabetes Severity SCOre, DISSCO) and evaluated its association with risks of hospitalization and mortality, assessing its additional risk information to sociodemographic factors and HbA1c. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We used UK primary and secondary care data for 139 626 individuals with type 2 diabetes between 2007 and 2017, aged ≥35 years, and registered in general practices in England. The study cohort was randomly divided into a training cohort (n=111 748, 80%) to develop the severity tool and a validation cohort (n=27 878). We developed baseline and longitudinal severity scores using 34 diabetes-related domains. Cox regression models (adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity, deprivation, and HbA1c) were used for primary (all-cause mortality) and secondary (hospitalization due to any cause, diabetes, hypoglycemia, or cardiovascular disease or procedures) outcomes. Likelihood ratio (LR) tests were fitted to assess the significance of adding DISSCO to the sociodemographics and HbA1c models. RESULTS: A total of 139 626 patients registered in 400 general practices, aged 63±12 years were included, 45% of whom were women, 83% were White, and 18% were from deprived areas. The mean baseline severity score was 1.3±2.0. Overall, 27 362 (20%) people died and 99 951 (72%) had ≥1 hospitalization. In the training cohort, a one-unit increase in baseline DISSCO was associated with higher hazard of mortality (HR: 1.14, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.15, area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC)=0.76) and cardiovascular hospitalization (HR: 1.45, 95% CI 1.43 to 1.46, AUROC=0.73). The LR tests showed that adding DISSCO to sociodemographic variables significantly improved the predictive value of survival models, outperforming the added value of HbA1c for all outcomes. Findings were consistent in the validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels of DISSCO are associated with higher risks for hospital admissions and mortality. The new severity score had higher predictive value than the proxy used in clinical practice, HbA1c. This reproducible algorithm can help practitioners stratify clinical care of patients with type 2 diabetes

Marital status and risk of cardiovascular diseases : A systematic review and meta-analysis

Acknowledgement We acknowledge the ASPIRE Summer Studentship programme at Keele University for the support of this work. Funding This work is supported by the ASPIRE Summer Studentship programme at Keele University.Peer reviewedPostprin

The effect of pre-procedure sublingual nitroglycerin on radial artery diameter and Allen’s test outcome - relevance to transradial catheterization

Background The radial artery is increasingly used for cardiac procedures, but is a relatively small vessel that is prone to spasm when instrumented. Intra-arterial nitroglycerine has been shown to reduce radial spasm but first requires arterial access. We investigated the effect of pre-procedure sublingual nitroglycerin (NTG) on the diameter of the radial artery in a large cohort of patients. Methods 305 subjects underwent ultrasound measurement of their radial and ulnar arteries in both arms before and after the administration of 800 μg of sublingual NTG. The Allen's test was also performed in the subjects prior to and after NTG. Results Radial artery diameter in this Caucasian study group is larger than that reported for other populations. The administration of sublingual NTG significantly increased the size of the right radial artery from 2.88 ± 0.36 mm to 3.36 ± 0.40 mm in men and from 2.23 ± 0.37 up to 2.74 ± 0.36 mm in women. There were also significant increases in left radial, right and left ulnar artery diameters in males and females with NTG. There was no significant effect of NTG on blood pressure. In all patients with an unfavourable Allen's test, retesting following sublingual NTG resulted in transition to a favourable Allen's. Conclusion Caucasian populations have larger calibre radial arteries compared to other geographic areas. Sublingual NTG is effective at dilating the radial artery in both men and women. This may make radial artery puncture and cannulation less challenging and should be considered in all patients in the absence of contraindications. The results of Allen's testing are dynamic and its usefulness for screening prior to transradial access is undetermined

Rheumatic mitral valve disease is associated with worse outcomes in stroke:A Thailand National Database Study

Background and purpose: Rheumatic valvular heart disease is associated with increased risk of cerebrovascular events, although there are limited data on the prognosis of patients with rheumatic mitral valve disease (RMVD) following stroke.  Methods: We examined the association between RMVD and both serious and common cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular (respiratory and infective) complications in a cohort of hospitalised stroke patients based in Thailand. Factors associated with in-hospital mortality were also explored. Data were obtained from a National Insurance Database. All hospitalised strokes between 1st October 2004 and 31st January 2013 were included in the current study. Characteristics and outcomes were compared for RMVD and non-RMVD patients. Logistic regression, propensity score matching, and multivariate models were employed to assess study outcomes.  Results: In total, 594,681 patients (mean (SD) age=64(14.5) years) with a diagnosis of stroke (ischemic = 306,154; hemorrhagic= 195,392; undetermined = 93,135) were included in this study, of whom 5461 had RMVD. Results from primary analyses showed that following ischemic stroke, and controlling for potential confounding covariates, RMVD was associated (P<0.001) with increased odds for cardiac arrest (OR(95%CI)=2.13(1.68-2.70)), shock (2.13(1.64-2.77)), arrhythmias (1.70(1.21-2.39)), respiratory failure (2.09(1.87-2.33)), pneumonia (2.00(1.81-2.20)), and sepsis (1.39(1.19-1.63)). In hemorrhagic stroke patients, RMVD was associated with increased odds (fully adjusted model) for respiratory failure (1.26(1.01-1.57)), and in patients with undetermined stroke, RMVD was associated with increased odds (fully adjusted analyses) for shock (3.00(1.46-6.14)), respiratory failure (2.70(1.91-3.79)), and pneumonia (2.42(1.88-3.11)).  Conclusions: RMVD is associated with development of cardiac arrest, shock, arrhythmias, respiratory failure, pneumonia, and sepsis following acute stroke

Methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine meta-analyses in highest-impact journals

Background Well-conducted meta-analyses are considered to be at the top of the evidence-based hierarchy pyramid, with an expansion of these publications within the cardiovascular research arena. There are limited data evaluating the trends and quality of such publications. The objective of this study was to evaluate the methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine-related meta-analyses published in the highest impact journals. Methods and Results Using the Medline database, we retrieved cardiovascular medicine-related systematic reviews and meta-analyses published i

Effect of Antiplatelet Therapy (Aspirin + Dipyridamole Versus Clopidogrel) on Mortality Outcome in Ischemic Stroke

The optimal regimen of antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention in noncardioembolic ischemic stroke remains controversial. We aimed to determine which regimen was associated with the greatest reduction in adverse outcomes. We analysed prospectively collected data from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital Stroke Register (NNUHSR). The sample population consisted of 3,572 participants (mean age 74.96 ± 12.67) with ischemic stroke, who were consecutively admitted between 2003-2015. Patients were placed on one of three antiplatelet regimens at hospital discharge; aspirin monotherapy, aspirin plus dipyridamole and clopidogrel. Clopidogrel and aspirin plus dipyridamole was compared to aspirin. A direct comparison between clopidogrel and aspirin plus dipyridamole was also performed. Outcomes included all-cause mortality and a combined endpoint of all-cause mortality and incidence of major adverse cardiac events (stroke or myocardial infarction). Cox-regression models adjusted for potential confounders at the following time periods after discharge; 0-90 days, 91-365 days and 1-3 years. Aspirin plus dipyridamole was associated with a lower risk of mortality at 0-90 days; HR 0.62 (0.43-0.91). Clopidogrel was associated with a lower risk of mortality at 1-3 years; HR of 0.39 (0.26-0.60). Similar HRs were observed for the the corresponding time points in the composite outcome. In conclusion Patients with non-cardioembolic stroke may gain maximum benefit from aspirin plus dipyridamole initially (≤1 year) with a subsequent switch to clopidogrel, with regard to mortality and MACE outcomes

Impact of hemoglobin levels and anemia on mortality in acute stroke: analysis of UK regional registry data, systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The impact of hemoglobin levels and anemia on stroke mortality remains controversial. We aimed to systematically assess this association and quantify the evidence. Methods and Results: We analysed data from a cohort of 8,013 stroke patients (mean (sd) 77.81±11.83 years) consecutively admitted over 11 years (January 2003–May 2015) using a UK Regional Stroke Register. The impact of hemoglobin levels and anemia on mortality was assessed by sex-specific values at different time points (7-day, 14-day, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, 1 year), using multiple regression models controlling for confounders. Anemia was present in 24.5% of the cohort on admission and was associated with increased odds of mortality at most of the time points examined up to 1 year following stroke. The association was less consistent for males with hemorrhagic stroke. Elevated haemoglobin was also associated with increased mortality, mainly within the first month. We then conducted a systematic review using the EMBASE and Medline databases. Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria. When combined with the cohort from the current study, this gave a pooled population of 29,943 patients with stroke. The evidence base was quantified in a meta-analysis. Anemia on admission was found to be associated with an increased risk of mortality in both ischemic stroke (8 studies); OR 1.97(1.56– 2.47) and hemorrhagic stroke (4 studies); OR 1.46(1.23–1.74). Conclusions: There is strong evidence that patients with anemia have increased mortality in stroke. Targeted interventions in this patient population may improve outcomes and therefore require further evaluation