Difficulties of routine treatment are exaggerated

BMJ 1996;312:52 (6 January)

Letters

Difficulties of routine treatment are exaggerated

EDITOR,--C M Sudlow and colleagues, and K G Sweeney and colleagues'commentary on their article, exaggerate the difficulties inacting on the research evidence on the use of anticoagulantsin atrial fibrillation.¹ They point to the risk of bleeding,the need for data on prevalence, and patients' preferences asareas of uncertainty.

Much of the evidence on the incidence of bleeding as a sideeffect of anticoagulant treatment derives from data recordedin the 1980s and earlier, since when the technology of monitoringhas improved. Nevertheless, bleeds are a reason to considerstopping treatment, on the grounds that patients' quality oflife may be adversely affected by continued anticoagulation.²Fortunately, results from controlled trials have been corroboratedby experience of anticoagulant treatment in clinical practicefrom a large health maintenance organisation in Boston. Treatmentof 65% of those with atrial fibrillation was achieved in a populationwith higher levels of . . . [Full text of this article]

Add to CiteULike CiteULike Add to Complore Complore Add to Connotea Connotea Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us Add to Digg Digg Add to Reddit Reddit Add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon Add to Technorati Technorati What's this?

Relevant Article

How To Do It: Service provision and use of anticoagulants in atrial fibrillation: C M Sudlow, H Rodgers, R A Kenny, and R G Thomson
BMJ 1995 311: 558-560. [Extract] [Full Text]