Antithrombotic Use Patterns in COVID-19 Patients from Spain: A Real-World Data Study

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Epidemiology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Antithrombotics are crucial for managing COVID-19-related thrombosis.
• Population-level studies on antithrombotic use in COVID-19 are limited.
• Understanding prescribing patterns is vital for optimizing patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe antithrombotic prescribing patterns in Spanish primary care and hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
• To analyze the use of antithrombotics before and after COVID-19 diagnosis.
• To investigate post-discharge antithrombotic use.

Main Methods:

• Real-world data study using electronic health records from BIFAP.
• Analysis of antithrombotic prescriptions within ±14 days of COVID-19 diagnosis (March 2020-February 2022).
• Categorization of users into prior and new/naive groups, with analysis of post-discharge use.

Main Results:

• Antithrombotics were prescribed to 4.6% of primary care patients and 53.6% of hospitalized patients.
• Enoxaparin was most common in hospitals; acetylsalicylic acid in primary care.
• Hospital antithrombotic use was low (53.6%), with higher rates in new users than prior users for enoxaparin.

Conclusions:

• A consensus exists for prescribing antithrombotics in COVID-19 patients.
• Prescription rates in hospitalized COVID-19 patients were notably low.
• Further research is needed to understand and improve antithrombotic utilization in this population.