K4.7 Recipients of anti-clotting drugs

Proportion of recipients of anticoagulant drugs

The aging of the population is associated with a higher incidence of chronic diseases (mainly cardiovascular) and a higher risk of thromboembolic events. Arterial and venous thromboembolic complications are prevented and treated with antithrombotic drugs, which are divided into antiaggregatory agents, fibrinolytics, and anticoagulant drugs. The most effective is anticoagulant treatment with coumarins, which is received by more than 35,000 patients in Slovenia and is newly introduced to 7,000-8,000 patients annually. The number of patients who need anticoagulant treatment or protection, will continue to increase in the future due to the aging of the population, the extension of the duration of treatment and the spread of indications. An aging population brings with it an increased incidence of conditions that increase the risk of stroke and thromboembolism. The appropriate choice of anticoagulant therapy is justified from the point of view of reducing morbidity and mortality. Anticoagulant drugs are essential for the treatment and prevention of various thromboembolic diseases, such as venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and stroke.

The proportion of recipients of anticoagulant drugs describes the number of people who receive anticoagulant drugs per 100 inhabitants in the observed calendar year.

An age-standardized proportion is calculated, which allows mutual comparison of populations with different age structures.

Rate per 100 inhabitants.

The proportion of recipients of anticoagulant medication is the ratio between the number of persons who received at least one prescription for anticoagulant medication within the observed calendar year and the number of all residents in the middle of the same year, multiplied by 100.

Medicines from the Anatomical-therapeutic-chemical classification of drugs of the group: B01A: Antithrombotics are taken into account as anticoagulant drugs in the calculation.

Recipients of anti-clotting drugs

$=\frac{Proportion of recipients of anti-clotting drugs}{Number of inhabi\tan ts}\times 100$

The direct standardization method is used for standardization, where the Slovenian population from 2014 is used as the standard population.

Outpatient Prescription Drug Database, National Institute of Public Health.

Population, Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia.

Data are published annually.

1. Golnik Clinic ( http://www.klinika-golnik.si/uploads/klinika-golnik-files/golniski_simpozij_2011_klinicna_farmacija_zbornik_prispevkov.pdf ).
2. Toplišek J, Mavri A, Vene N. Manual for handling patients in the anticoagulation clinic. Internal department SB Novo mesto Section for anticoagulation treatment and prevention of thromboembolic diseases at the Association for Vascular Diseases, Slovenian Medical Association. Available on 26 October 2015 from the website: https://www.sb-nm.si/Portals/0/Content/Prirocnik.pdf .
3. National Institute of Public Health ( http://www.nijz.si/ ).
4. Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia ( http://www.stat.si/StatWeb ).

Recipients of anticoagulant drugs include people who receive anticoagulant drugs for both therapeutic and preventive reasons.