Computerized Alert Boosts Anticoagulation Prescription, Lowers MACE in AF Patients

Alert-based computerized decision support was associated with a significantly increased rate of anticoagulation prescription and a reduction in cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), new study results from the ALERT-AF trial presented at the American Heart Association 2018 Scientific Sessions in Chicago suggested.

Researchers seeking to evaluate whether an alert-based computerized support program to assist patients in anticoagulation prescription adherence randomized 458 patients with AF in the study and randomized them to either an alert group (n=248) or no alert (n=210). The primary efficacy endpoint was the rate of anticoagulation prescription during hospitalization, at discharge, and at 90 days. The secondary endpoint included the occurrence of a composite endpoint of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; defined as stroke/transient ischemic attack, systemic embolism, myocardial infarction, and all-cause mortality at 90 days.

The results suggested that anticoagulation prescribed during hospitalization was significantly improved in the alert group compared to the no-alert group (P<0.001). Additionally, the secondary endpoint of MACE was significantly reduced in the alter group compared to those not receiving an alert (P=0.002).

“Alert-based computerized decision support nearly tripled prescription of anticoagulation in hospitalize AF patients at increased risk for stroke, […] and reduced a secondary endpoint of major adverse cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction and stroke,” Gregory Piazza, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, concluded in his presentation. “Computerized decision support has the potential to be a powerful tool in the prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with AF.”

Read more DocWire News coverage of AHA 2018 here.