Prescribing trends for dabigatran etexilate in primary care

At the time of the analysis, dabigatran etexilate was licensed, in Ireland, for thromboprophylaxis in adults after elective total hip- and total knee-replacement only. A retrospective review (January 2010 to June 2011) of the National General Medical Services Prescription Database showed that 1929 patients had received prescriptions for dabigatran etexilate. Of these, 42% had received it for longer than the licensed maximum duration (at that time) of 35 days. The Eastern Health board dabigatran etexilate cohort (n = 510) was analysed further. Here 64.5% had received the drug for longer than 35 days. Seventy-six (32.5%) of the 234 patients who had received more than 90 days of dabigatran etexilate had concurrently received rate/rhythm control therapy. Likewise, 47 (31%) of the 152 patients who had received more than 180 days of dabigatran etexilate had been co-prescribed rate/rhythm control therapy. It is possible that dabigatran etexilate had been prescribed for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation.