The Safety and Effectiveness of Warfarin and Dabigatran Prescribed in the Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation Population With DoD Healthcare Coverage

The Comparative Safety and Effectiveness of Warfarin and Dabigatran Utilized in the Department of Defense (DoD) Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation (NVAF) Patient Population-A Retrospective Database Analysis

The objective is to assess the safety and effectiveness of new dabigatran and warfarin patients diagnosed with NVAF in the US DoD population.

Study Design:

Retrospective

Inclusion criteria:

• Patients must be continuously enrolled in a health plan during the pre-index period;
• Patients must have at least one inpatient, or one physician office visit, emergency room visit with a diagnosis of AF (ICD-9-CM diagnosis code: 427.31in any position) on the index date or during the pre-index period;
• Patients must have a prescription for dabigatran or warfarin (this first prescription will be the index date);
• Patients must be treatment naive from all OAC use prior to first dabigatran or warfarin prescription;
• Aged 18-89 on the index date;

Exclusion criteria:

• Patients with valvular procedures related to the baseline AF diagnosis will be excluded;
• Patients with transient causes of AF such as hyperthyroidism, any cardiac surgery, pericarditis, mycoarditis, pulmonary embolism within 3 months prior to their first diagnosis of AF;