Table 3.
Rationale behind the choice of the anticoagulant treatment
| Reasons | Analyzed by clinical case scenarios | Analyzed by different anticoagulation options across the four clinical case scenarios | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Case 1 n = 397 (%) |
Case 2 n = 326 (%) |
Case 3 n = 297 (%) |
Case 4 n = 274 (%) |
No anticoagulation n = 34 (%) |
Parenteral drugs only n = 341 (%) |
VKAs n = 674 (%) |
DOACs n = 235 (%) |
|
| Route of administration of the drug |
86 (21.7) |
38 (11.7) |
67 (22.6) |
27 (9.9) |
0 (0) |
37 (10.9) |
60 (8.9) |
119 (50.6) |
| Pharmacological properties of the drug (eg, half‐life) |
37 (9.3) |
61 (18.7) |
22 (7.4) |
55 (20.1) |
0 (0) |
106 (31.1) |
20 (3.0) |
45 (19.2) |
| Availability of an antidote |
35 (8.8) |
64 (19.6) |
27 (9.1) |
62 (22.6) |
0 (0) |
40 (11.7) |
131 (19.4) |
15 (6.4) |
| No need for blood monitoring during follow‐up |
79 (19.9 |
23 (7.1) |
43 (14.5) |
9 (3.3) |
0 (0) |
38 (11.1) |
2 (0.3) |
113 (48.1) |
| Availability of laboratory tests to measure the anticoagulant effect |
62 (15.6) |
49 (15.0) |
44 (14.8) |
42 (15.3) |
0 (0) |
40 (11.7) |
150 (22.3) |
7 (3.0) |
| Many years of clinical experience with this drug |
136 (34.3) |
80 (24.5) |
98 (33.0) |
70 (25.6) |
0 (0) |
89 (26.1) |
256 (38.0) |
37 (15.7) |
| Favorable safety profile of the drug |
69 (17.4) |
58 (17.8) |
63 (21.2) |
50 (18.3) |
0 (0) |
99 (29.0) |
39 (5.8) |
102 (43.4) |
| Proven efficacy of the drug in this setting |
100 (25.2) |
51 (15.6) |
85 (28.6) |
48 (17.5) |
0 (0) |
60 (17.6) |
216 (32.1) |
8 (3.4) |
| Patient’s high risk of bleeding |
10 (2.5) |
107 (32.8) |
16 (5.4) |
96 (35.0) |
21 (61.8) |
128 (37.5) |
57 (8.5 |
20 (8.5) |
| Patient’s high risk of thrombosis extension |
44 (11.1) |
24 (7.4) |
19 (6.4) |
17 (6.2) |
0 (0) |
40 (11.7) |
48 (7.1) |
15 (6.4) |
| Patient’s demographic characteristics (age, sex) |
8 (2.0) |
1 (0.3) |
7 (2.4) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
2 (0.6) |
5 (0.7) |
9 (3.8) |
| Patient's comorbidities |
8 (2.0) |
79 (24.2) |
3 (1.0) |
23 (8.4) |
9 (26.5) |
56 (16.4) |
40 (5.9) |
8 (3.4) |
| Patient’s preference |
21 (5.3) |
2 (0.6) |
18 (6.1) |
2 (0.7) |
0 (0) |
2 (0.6) |
5 (0.7) |
34 (14.5) |
| Expected higher patient’s adherence |
15 (3.8) |
2 (0.6) |
12 (4.0) |
3 (1.1) |
0 (0) |
3 (0.9) |
5 (0.7) |
23 (9.8) |
| Drug licensed by regulatory authorities for this indication |
32 (8.1) |
9 (2.8) |
22 (7.4) |
10 (3.7) |
0 (0) |
3 (0.9) |
68 (10.1) |
2 (0.9) |
| Guidelinesrecommendations |
73 (18.4) |
47 (14.4) |
78 (26.3) |
54 (19.7) |
6 (17.7) |
42 (12.3) |
194 (28.8) |
10 (4.3) |
| Results of currently available literature |
88 (22.2) |
51 (15.6) |
77 (25.9) |
56 (20.4) |
8 (23.5) |
34 (10.0) |
204 (30.3) |
25 (10.6) |
| Personal experience when treating patients with this condition |
81 (20.4) |
50 (15.3) |
44 (14.8) |
39 (14.2) |
7 (20.6) |
45 (13.2) |
125 (18.6) |
36 (15.3) |
| Other reasons |
6 (1.5) |
6 (1.8) |
2 (0.7) |
2 (0.7) |
3 (8.8) |
3 (0.9) |
9 (1.3) |
1 (0.4) |
Up to three choices were possible in each case scenario. The three most common reasons in each column are highlighted.
Abbreviations: DOACs, direct oral anticoagulants; VKAs, vitamin K antagonists.