Direct oral anticoagulants for secondary stroke prevention in patients over 80 years of age: the role of geriatric functional status

Prescribing anticoagulation therapy in very old (≥ 80-years) patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is an emerging clinical issue, but current knowledge and recommendations are insufficient. We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in secondary stroke prevention in very old patients and to explore the related geriatric functional status of these patients. Three hundred fifty-three consecutive ≥ 80-year-old patients treated for transient ischemic attack (TIA) or ischemic stroke (IS) at the neurological clinic at UMC Ljubljana, who were prescribed DOACs for AF between December 2012 and May 2020, were included. Data regarding recurrent TIA/IS, major bleeds, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and death were collected. Data were descriptively compared with data from RCTs- including younger patients. Patients prescribed DOACs between January 2018 and May 2020 were contacted in December 2020, and their functional status was assessed using the Barthel index (BI). The efficacy of secondary stroke prevention with DOACs was comparable to RCTs for significantly younger patients. Major bleeds occurred more often, but most incidences were gastrointestinal, and the rate of ICH was comparable. Importantly, most patients were highly independent determined by BI. Overall, our real world results suggest that DOACs are as effective at preventing IS in secondary prevention in very old patients than in younger patients and that geriatric functional assessment could be a useful tool in the decision-making process.