Anticoagulation stewardship in the ambulatory settings of long-term care and rehabilitation - A multi-centric descriptive pilot study.

Abstract

Background: Anticoagulants have consistently emerged as the leading cause of adverse drug events in both inpatient and outpatient settings. While literature on anticoagulation stewardship programs (ACSP) exists for hospital settings, there is a paucity of data in long-term care and rehabilitation settings.

Objective: Assess the feasibility of a pharmacist led ACSP in the ambulatory healthcare settings of long-term care facilities (LTC) and rehabilitation centers (RC).

Methods: We conducted a prospective pilot project in 3 rehabilitation centers and 7 long-term care facilities. Patients were selected over 5 months in 2023. Patient and anticoagulant prescription-related characteristics were collected. The primary feasibility outcome was the proportion of anticoagulant prescription reviews leading to a pharmacist intervention.

Results: A total of 411 patients were enrolled. Common indications for anticoagulants were atrial fibrillation (n = 255, 62.0 %), medical thromboprophylaxis (n = 52, 12.7 %) and venous thromboembolism (n = 53, 12.9 %). Direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) were most frequently prescribed (n = 309, 75.2 %). Of 411 prescription reviews, 93 led to at least one intervention (22.6 %), for a total of 100 interventions. Interventions mainly concerned laboratory ordering (n = 29) and DOAC dose adjustment (n = 24). Baseline anticoagulant characteristics and outcomes varied by healthcare setting.

Conclusion: Expanding ACSP into outpatient LTC and RC settings is feasible. ACSP should include both therapeutic and thromboprophylactic anticoagulants. Additional research is warranted to evaluate the viability of ongoing ACSP monitoring, and more extensive prospective studies are required to assess clinical outcomes effectively.