Abstract

MACHADO-ALBA, Jorge E.; GARCIA-BETANCUR, Santiago; VILLEGAS-CARDONA, Federico  and  MEDINA-MORALES, Diego Alejandro. Prescription patterns of new oral blood thinning drugs and their economic impact in Colombia. Rev. Colomb. Cardiol. [online]. 2016, vol.23, n.4, pp.277-285. ISSN 0120-5633.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rccar.2015.08.005.

Introduction: For decades, vitamin K antagonists were the drugs available for management of patients requiring anticoagulation therapy. The so-called new oral blood thinners, with an apparently better safety profile, have been approved for some cases; however, Colombia still lacks the information on prescription patterns for these drugs. Objetive: To determine prescription patterns of new oral blood-thinning drugs and the variables associated to their intake in a group of patients affiliated to the Colombian General Health and Social Security System (SGSSS) during 2014. Methods: Cross-sectional observational study. Patients taking dabigatran, rivaroxaban and apixaban during the February-April 2014 quarter were selected from the database of 6.5 SGSSS affiliated members. Sociodemographic, pharmacological, co-medication (comorbidities) and economic variables were assessed. Student's t test, chi-square test and logistic regression models were used. Results: A total of 1,310 patients were administered new oral blood thinners, with a male predominance (57.2%), in single-drug therapy (88%), and an association with antiplatelet drugs was present in 10.5% of the cases. The most commonly prescribed medication was rivaroxaban (52.9%). The cost per 1,000 people/day of dabigatran COL $ 334.6, of rivaroxaban COL $ 930.7 and apixaban COL $ 32.6. 49.1% of the patients had a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. Conclusions: Rivaroxaban was the medication with the greater cost. Based on these patterns it can be determines that the new oral blood-thinning drugs are being used mainly as a single-drug therapy. More studies assessing the efficacy and safety profile in Colombian population need to be conducted.

Keywords : Blood-thinning drugs; Dabigatran; Rivaroxaban; Aprixaban; Pharmacoepidemiology; Primary care; Colombia.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )