ORs (95% CI) for the association between time since OAC discontinuation and the risk of IS among patients with AF
| UK (IMRD-UK) | Denmark (RSD) | |||||||||||
| Cases n=615 | Controls n=3075 | Crude OR (95% CI) | Adjusted OR* (95% CI) | Cases n=643 | Controls n=6430 | Crude OR (95% CI) | Adjusted OR* (95% CI) | |||||
| N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | |||||
| Currently exposed to an OAC | 267 | 43.4 | 1994 | 64.8 | 1.0 (reference) | 1.0 (reference) | 339 | 52.7 | 4239 | 65.9 | 1.0 (reference) | 1.0 (reference) |
| OAC discontinuation at any time | ||||||||||||
| Any OAC | 137 | 22.3 | 313 | 10.2 | 3.25 (2.56 to 4.13) | 2.99 (2.31 to 3.86) | 131 | 20.4 | 783 | 12.2 | 2.18 (1.74 to 2.74) | 2.30 (1.79 to 2.95) |
| VKA | 84 | 13.7 | 235 | 7.6 | 2.89 (2.13 to 3.92) | 2.38 (1.72 to 3.30) | 75 | 11.7 | 539 | 8.4 | 1.77 (1.34 to 2.33) | 1.83 (1.34 to 2.49) |
| NOAC | 53 | 8.6 | 78 | 2.5 | 4.83 (3.21 to 7.26) | 4.59 (2.97 to 7.08) | 56 | 8.7 | 244 | 3.8 | 3.02 (2.14 to 4.25) | 3.37 (2.35 to 4.85) |
| OAC discontinuation 30–365 days before the index date | ||||||||||||
| Any OAC | 59 | 9.6 | 125 | 4.1 | 3.54 (2.53 to 4.95) | 2.97 (2.09 to 4.23) | 51 | 7.9 | 276 | 4.3 | 2.45 (1.74 to 3.45) | 2.39 (1.67 to 3.42) |
| VKA | 26 | 4.2 | 77 | 2.5 | 2.49 (1.57 to 3.94) | 2.08 (1.29 to 3.35) | 13 | 2.0 | 135 | 2.1 | 1.20 (0.66 to 2.20) | 1.15 (0.62 to 2.15) |
| NOAC | 33 | 5.4 | 48 | 1.6 | 5.61 (3.46 to 9.08) | 4.78 (2.88 to 7.95) | 38 | 5.9 | 141 | 2.2 | 3.84 (2.52 to 5.86) | 3.82 (2.44 to 5.97) |
| OAC discontinuation >365 days before the index date | ||||||||||||
| Any OAC | 78 | 12.7 | 188 | 6.1 | 3.07 (2.29 to 4.13) | 3.03 (2.11 to 4.18) | 80 | 12.4 | 507 | 7.9 | 2.08 (1.58 to 2.73) | 2.48 (1.81 to 3.41) |
| VKA | 58 | 9.4 | 158 | 5.1 | 2.70 (1.95 to 3.75) | 2.72 (1.91 to 3.86) | 62 | 9.6 | 404 | 6.3 | 1.95 (1.44 to 2.64) | 2.21 (1.55 to 3.15) |
| NOAC | 20 | 3.3 | 30 | 1.0 | 5.03 (2.70 to 9.07) | 4.98 (2.63 to 9.43) | 18 | 2.8 | 103 | 1.6 | 2.07 (1.19 to 3.62) | 2.87 (1.60 to 5.15) |
| Intermediate use: discontinued 8–30 days before the index date | ||||||||||||
| Any OAC | 29 | 4.7 | 117 | 3.8 | 1.84 (1.20 to 2.82) | 1.51 (0.97 to 2.36) | 22 | 3.4 | 177 | 2.8 | 1.71 (1.05 to 2.78) | 1.41 (0.85 to 2.34) |
| VKA | 16 | 2.6 | 62 | 2.0 | 2.08 (1.17 to 3.70) | 1.59 (0.86 to 2.91) | 5 | 0.8 | 66 | 1.0 | 1.17 (0.45 to 3.02) | 0.78 (0.29 to 2.10) |
| NOAC | 13 | 2.1 | 55 | 1.8 | 1.66 (0.88 to 3.12) | 1.50 (0.77 to 2.88) | 17 | 2.6 | 111 | 1.7 | 1.97 (1.11 to 3.47) | 1.80 (1.00 to 3.24) |
*Adjusted by number of referrals/outpatient visits in the year before the index date, the number of hospitalisations in the year before the index date, use of an antiplatelet medication 0–7 days before the index date, use of an antiarrhythmic medication 0–7 days before the index date (UK analysis only) and cerebrovascular disease before the start date.
AF, atrial fibrillation; IMRD-UK, IQVIA Medical Research Data-UK; IS, ischaemic stroke; NOAC, non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant; OAC, oral anticoagulant; RSD, Region of Southern Denmark; VKA, vitamin K antagonist.