Atrial fib: anticoag use when advanced dementia
In an interesting data-mining study, 1/3 of nursing home patients with advanced dementia and atrial fibrillation received anticoagulation in the last 6 months of their lives ( see afib anticoag in advanced dementia jamaintmed2021 in dropbox, or doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.1819 ) Details: -- 15,217 nursing home residents with atrial fibrillation (AF) an d advanced dementia were assessed -- data from Medicare to identify nursing home resident 65 years or older with advanced dementia and AF with at least a moderate stroke risk, CHA 2 DS 2 VASC score at least 2, and who died between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2017. Data analyzed from October 1 to December 30, 2020 -- advanced dementia was defined as a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or other dementia, Cognitive Performance Score of 5 or 6, and dependence in all activities of daily living on 2 Minimum Data Set assessments within the last 6 months of lif...