An Audit on "Atrial Fibrillation & Anti-Coagulation" at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (2015-2017)

Author Info

M.I.A Qureshi Anil Kumar Anil K Miryala

Corresponding Author

M.I.A Qureshi
Consultant Physician, Geriatric & General Internal Medicine, County Hospital Stafford, UK

A B S T R A C T

Background: During hospital admission, it was noticed that most patients with atrial fibrillation (new or old) diagnosis have no clear documented plan about anticoagulation. It was considered a significant risk for patient safety. Aim: To determine whether patients with atrial fibrillation diagnosis were on anticoagulation or not, if not have the reasons been documented in the medical notes. If new-onset atrial fibrillation whether CHADSVASC and HASBLED scores have been used or not for anticoagulation purpose. Settings: County Hospital Stafford & Royal Stoke University Hospital (UHNM 2015-2017). Materials and Methods: Prospective audit, a total of 100 patient's data (50 patients per cycle) were analysed by using specific audit Performa based upon NICE Atrial Fibrillation 2014 Guidelines [1]. Statistical Analysis: Data was coded, entered in an excel spreadsheet and analysed by translating into percentages and proportions. Results: Initial audit showed that out of 50 patients with atrial fibrillation diagnosis, 30 were already on anticoagulation and 20 were not on anticoagulation. Only 2 out of 20 were assessed for anticoagulation and 18 were not assessed. AF Performa was introduced in the clerking sheet post initial audit. Re-audit after 6 months showed 43 out of 50 patients were on anticoagulation and 7 were not. Out of these 7 patients, 3 patients had absolute contraindications (Subdural Haematoma, Rectal bleeding and major haematoma), 2 patients were assessed for anticoagulation however were not followed up and 2 were not assessed. Results comparison is explained in (Table 1). Conclusions: This audit has demonstrated significant improvement in overall anticoagulation rates in suitable patients which have helped in improving patient safety.

Article Info

Article Type

Short Report

Publication history

Received: Thu 30, Jul 2020
Accepted: Sat 17, Oct 2020
Published: Tue 10, Nov 2020

Copyright

© 2023 M.I.A Qureshi . This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hosting by Science Repository.
DOI: 10.31487/j.JICOA.2020.05.10