BMJ 2000;321:638 ( 9 September )

Letters

Anticoagulation for patients with atrial fibrillation

    Editorial may have overinterpreted data
    Warfarin should be given for up to one year after successful cardioversion

Editorial may have overinterpreted data

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---Connolly's view that Kalra et al's findings clearly show that the results of anticoagulation studies can be replicated in general medical practice may be an overinterpretation of the data. 1 2 The 167 patients in the study may not have been a representative sample of high risk patients found in general practice. Patients were recruited from secondary care medical clinics, not general practice, and bias in the study group could have been introduced by selection for hospital referral. Furthermore, bias could have occurred by exclusion of those high risk patients who were already taking warfarin, who may have been considered by their general practitioner to have been at a lower risk of haemorrrhagic complications or a greater risk of stroke. Knowledge of the outcome of the 76 patients already taking warfarin, who presumably were being managed by the same anticoagulation service as trial patients, is also required.

The most striking finding from . . . [Full text of this article]
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Relevant Article

Anticoagulation for patients with atrial fibrillation and risk factors for stroke
Stuart J Connolly
BMJ 2000 320: 1219-1220. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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