Quality of warfarin anticoagulant therapy in family medicine practices asessed by time in therapeutic range: A retrospective observational study
Autori:
Mladen Oršolić, Venija Cerovečki, Ana Klir, Mario Ćurković
Sažetak
Summary
Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of warfarin anticoagulant therapy in family medicine practices using time in therapeutic range (TTR) and to determine the proportion of patients achieving optimal therapy quality. The secondary aim was to examine the association between therapy quality and selecteddemographic and clinical characteristics. Patients and Methods. A retrospective observational study was conducted in six family medicine practices (three urban and three rural) between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2024. Patients treated with warfarin who had at least three recorded international normalized ratio (INR) measurements and continuous follow-up were included in the analysis (n = 113). Data were obtained from electronic medical records and anonymized prior to analysis. TTR was calculated using the Rosendaal linear interpolation method. TTR was analyzed both as a continuous variable and dichotomously, with TTR ≥70% defined as optimal anticoagulant therapy quality. Data were presented as medians and interquartile ranges, and differences between groups were analyzed using nonparametric statistical tests. Results. A total of 113 patients were included, with a median age of 75 years (interquartile range 67–82), 52.2% were female. The median TTR was 55% (interquartile range 33.9–74.6), with values ranging from 0 to 97.5%. Optimal anticoagulant therapy quality (TTR ≥70%) was achieved by 39 (34.5%) patients. TTR values did not differ significantly according to age, sex, type of practice, primary indication for warfarin therapy, or analyzed comorbidities. Conclusions. The quality of warfarin anticoagulant therapy in family medicine practices was predominantly suboptimal, with a relatively small proportion of patients achieving the recommended TTR ≥70%. These findings indicate the need for improved organization of monitoring and management of warfarin therapy in primary health care in order to enhance treatment quality and reduce the risk of thromboembolic and bleeding complications.