Anticoagulant therapy in the Nordic Countries
Joergensen T, Jespersen J (eds)
Record ID 31996008347
Danish, English, Norwegian, Swedish
Authors' objectives:
Describe state-of-the-art in the Nordic Countries of the use of vitamin-K antagonists in anticoagulant therapy (ACT).
Authors' results and conclusions:
The report describes epidemiological, clinical, pharmacological, organizational and economic aspects of ACT in the Nordic Countries. There is a number of potential indications for ACT with vitamin-K antagonists but a lack consensus among Nordic clinicians as to whom and when to treat. This leads to great national variations in the profile and treatment of ACT patients, and thus probably to cases of over- as well as under-treatment. In general, the quality of ACT in the Nordic Countries is insufficient with too many PT-values outside the therapeutic range, too high frequency of bleeding and rethrombosis, and lack of communication between clinician, laboratory and patient.
Authors' recommendations:
Quality assurance programmes for ACT should be developed and implemented in clinical departments as well as in primary care. ACT should be concentrated on fewer hands in the clinical unit. Cooperation and communication between clinical departments, the primary health sector and laboratories should be improved. More patients should be provided with written instructions. All hospital laboratories should join an external quality assurance system, INR should be used as a measuring unit for prothrombin time values so that results are comparable. Other output or dissemination activity: The impact is not evaluated, however, the published results was a.o. the direct cause for the launching of a Danish project on quality improvement in ACT, and the occasion for an initiative to introduce INR in Norway.
Details
Project Status:
Completed
URL for project:
http://www.dsi.dk/
Year Published:
1994
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
Denmark
MeSH Terms
- Anticoagulants
- Quality Assurance, Health Care
- Vitamin K
Contact
Organisation Name:
Danish Institute for Health Services Research
Contact Address:
DSI, PO Box 2595, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark Tel: +45 35 29 8400; Fax: +45 35 29 8499
Contact Name:
hhj@dsi.dk
Contact Email:
hhj@dsi.dk
Copyright:
Danish Institute for Health Services Research (DSI)
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.