The net clinical benefit of warfarin anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Guidelines recommend warfarin use in patients with atrial fibrillation solely on the basis of risk for ischemic stroke without antithrombotic therapy. These guidelines rely on ischemic stroke rates observed in older trials and do not explicitly account for increased risk for hemorrhage.

Objective

To quantify the net clinical benefit of warfarin therapy in a cohort of patients with atrial fibrillation.

Design

Mixed retrospective and prospective cohort study of patients with atrial fibrillation between 1996 and 2003.

Setting

An integrated health care delivery system.

Patients

13 559 adults with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.

Measurements

Warfarin exposure, patient characteristics, CHADS(2) score (1 point for each of congestive heart fai

SUBMITTER: Singer DE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2777526 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature