Table 1.
Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the study population at baseline
| Patient characteristics | Intervention group | Control group | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 365) | (n = 371) | (n = 736) | |
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 74.4 (9.5) | 72.8 (9.3) | 73.5 (9.4) |
| Sex, n (%) | |||
| Male | 205 (56.2) | 200 (53.9) | 405 (55.0) |
| Female | 160 (43.8) | 171 (46.1) | 331 (45.0) |
| CHA2DS2-VASc scorea | |||
| = 1, n (%) | 9 (3.0) | 12 (4.1) | 21 (3.5) |
| > 1, n (%) | 292 (97.0) | 282 (95.9) | 574 (96.5) |
| Long-term indication for oral anticoagulation, n (%) | |||
| Atrial fibrillation | 302 (82.7) | 295 (79.5) | 597 (81.1) |
| Recurrent venous thrombosis | 32 (8.8) | 40 (10.8) | 72 (9.8) |
| Recurrent pulmonary embolism | 31 (8.5) | 30 (8.1) | 61 (8.3) |
| Mechanical heart prosthesis | 29 (7.9) | 28 (7.5) | 57 (7.7) |
| Intracardiac thrombus | 3 (0.8) | 4 (1.1) | 7 (1.0) |
| Other indications | 33 (9.0) | 34 (9.2) | 67 (9.1) |
| Antithrombotic medication, n (%) | |||
| Coumarin derivates | 346 (94.8) | 348 (93.8) | 694 (94.3) |
| Dabigatran | 10 (2.7) | 3 (0.8) | 13 (1.8) |
| Rivaroxaban | 7 (1.9) | 16 (4.3) | 23 (3.1) |
| Other | 2 (0.5) | 4 (1.1) | 6 (0.8) |
| Last INR measured within therapeutic target range, n (%) | 240 (65.8) | 239 (64.4) | 479 (65.1) |
| INR self-management, n (%) | 39 (10.7) | 46 (12.4) | 85 (11.5) |
| Migration backgroundb, n (%) | 27 (7.4) | 24 (6.5) | 51 (6.9) |
| Patient compliancec, n (%) | |||
| Very good compliance | 308 (84.4) | 266 (71.7) | 574 (80.0) |
| Good compliance | 51 (14.0) | 86 (23.2) | 137 (18.6) |
| Non-compliant | 6 (1.6) | 17 (4.6) | 23 (3.1) |
| No assessment available | 0 | 2 (0.5) | 2 (0.3) |
aBased on 595 patients with atrial fibrillation (301 in the intervention group and 294 in the control group), whose score data was available
bThe population group with a migration background consists of all persons who have immigrated to the territory of today’s Federal Republic of Germany since 1949, all foreigners born in Germany, and all persons born in Germany who have at least one parent who immigrated to the country or was born as a foreigner in Germany (source: Federal Statistical Office)
cAs assessed by GP