Abstract 16698: Comparison of Hospital Length of Stay Between Hospitalized Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation Patients Treated With Either Apixaban or Warfarin

• Published in: Circulation (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2014-11, Vol.130 (suppl_2)
• Main Authors: Farr, Amanda, Jing, Yonghua, Johnston, Stephen, Trocio, Jeffrey, Singhal, Shalabh, Graham, John
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0009-7322; 1524-4539
• DOI: 10.1161/circ.130.suppl_2.16698

Abstract only Hospital length of stay (LOS) is an important cost driver for hospitals and payers alike. Hospitalized non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients treated with apixaban may have shorter LOS than those treated with warfarin because of the absence of need for INR monitoring in apixaban. Thus, this study compared LOS between hospitalized NVAF patients treated with either apixaban or warfarin. This was a retrospective, observational cohort study based on a large U.S. database including diagnosis, procedure, and drug administration information from over 600 acute-care hospitals. Patients selected for study were aged ≥18 years and had a hospitalization record with an ICD-9-CM diagnosis code for atrial fibrillation (AF) in any position from Jan-1-2013 to Feb-28-2014 (index hospitalization). Patients with diagnoses indicative of rheumatic mitral valvular heart disease or a valve replacement procedure during index hospitalization were excluded. Patients were required to have been treated with either apixaban or warfarin, and not treated with rivaroxaban or dabigatran, during index hospitalization. Apixaban patients were propensity score (PS) matched to warfarin patients at a 1:1 ratio, using patient demographic/clinical and hospital characteristics. Study outcome was LOS, calculated as discharge date minus admission date; a sensitivity analysis calculated LOS as discharge date minus first anticoagulant administration date. Subanalyses were conducted among patients with a primary diagnosis of AF. The study included 832 apixaban patients matched to 832 warfarin patients. Patients had a mean age of 74 years and 46% were female. Mean [standard deviation (SD)] and median LOS was significantly (P