Table 2.
Comparison of Patients With Lung Cancer Who Were Prescribed Warfarin or LMWH
| Patient Characteristic | Patientsa Who Were Prescribed LMWH,b n = 284 [19.1%]c | Patientsa Who Were Prescribed Warfarin, n = 1206 [80.9%]c | Pd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age (±SD), y | 65.8 (±11.5) | 71.6 (±10.9) | <.0001 |
| Sex | |||
| Women | 132 (46.5) | 519 (43.0) | .29 |
| Men | 152 (53.5) | 687 (57.0) | |
| Race | .03 | ||
| White | 211 (74.3) | 979 (81.2) | |
| Black | 25 (8.8) | 73 (6.1) | |
| Hispanic | 3 (1.1) | 21 (1.7) | |
| Other | 45 (15.9) | 133 (11.0) | |
| Mean length of stay, d (median) | 28.7 (17.0) | 42.0 (21.0) | .001 |
| Mean No. of medications (±SD) | 15.2 (±6.0) | 15.6 (±5.6) | .32 |
| No. of patients with drug interactions (%) | 0 (0.0) | 344 (28.5) | <.0001e |
| No. (%) of comorbidities | |||
| <3 | 213 (75.0) | 754 (62.5) | <.0001 |
| ≥3 | 71 (25.0) | 452 (37.5) | |
| Hospice location | |||
| Northeast | 89 (31.3) | 215 (17.8) | |
| South | 98 (34.5) | 537 (44.5) | <.0001 |
| West | 41 (14.4) | 155 (12.9) | |
| Midwest | 56 (19.7) | 299 (24.8) | |
| Hospice sizef | |||
| Very small (<26) | 30 (10.6) | 191 (15.8) | |
| Small (26–100) | 126 (44.4) | 510 (42.3) | .02 |
| Medium (101–500) | 123 (43.3) | 454 (37.7) | |
| Large (501–782) | 5 (1.8) | 51 (4.2) | |
| Indication for anticoagulation | |||
| AF | 3 (1.1) | 178 (14.8) | |
| DVT and/or PE | 226 (79.6) | 7 (0.6) | |
| Thrombosis | 50 (17.6) | 961 (79.7) | <.0001e |
| AF and thrombosis, DVT, or PE | 0 (0.0) | 32 (2.7) | |
| Other | 5 (1.8) | 28 (2.3) | |
LMWH indicates low molecular weight heparin; SD, standard deviation; AF, atrial fibrillation; DVT, deep venous thrombosis; PE, pulmonary embolism.
Unless otherwise specified.
LMWH (dalteparin, enoxaparin, and tinzaparin) and the Factor Xa inhibitor fondaparinux.
Percentages were based on 1490 patients who were prescribed LMWH or warfarin; 67 patients were prescribed both warfarin and LMWH during their hospice stay and were not included in the comparisons between the anticoagulant groups.
Differences in the proportions between the 2 groups were tested using the chi-square test for categorical variables and the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables.
Fisher exact test was used.
Based on average daily census.