Patient concern regarding bleeding side effects from oral anticoagulation therapy for atrial fibrillation: an analysis from the multicentre KiCS-AF registry

Aims The purpose of this study is to utilize patient-reported outcomes to determine the percentage of patients concerned about mild to moderate bleeding side effects of anticoagulants.Methods and results We consecutively enrolled 3312 newly diagnosed or referred patients for atrial fibrillation (AF) management from 11 sites within the Keio interhospital Cardiovascular Studies-Atrial Fibrillation registry between September 2012 and May 2018. Of these patients, 2636 (79.5%) were taking oral anticoagulants at enrollment. Using the Atrial Fibrillation Effect on Quality-of-life questionnaire (AFEQT), the patients who responded '1: not at all bothered' or '2: hardly bothered' on the seven-point scale regarding bleeding side effects were classified as the 'no OAC concern' group while those responding '3: a little bothered' to '7: extremely bothered' were classified as the 'OAC concern' group. On baseline analysis, 29.3% (n = 772) were 'concerned' about bleeding side effects. The proportion of women and patients with AF-related symptoms was higher in the oral anticoagulant (OAC) concern vs. no OAC concern group (36.9% vs. 29.8%, P < 0.0004 and 66.2% vs. 56.7%, P < 0.0001, respectively). The CHADS2 scores = 2 were comparable between groups. Of the 430 patients in the 1-year follow-up analysis, the proportion of the continued OAC concern group (1 year from enrollment) was 41.6%. The dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and apixaban usage rates were comparable between the two groups in baseline and 1-year follow-up analysis.Conclusion Approximately one-third of all patients with AF on anticoagulant therapy were concerned regarding bleeding from short- and long-term anticoagulant use.