Notification of international normalized ratio test in atrial fibrillation patient with warfarin via short message service

Studys treated protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Authors

  • Saeid Eslami Department of Medical Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Keywords:

Stroke, Atrial fibrillation, Warfarin, Hemorrhage, Short Message Service, International Normalized Ratio, Mortality

Abstract

Background: Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most common abnormal heart rhythm. AF patients usually use warfarin therapy. Safety and efficacy of warfarin are dependent on maintaining the International Normalized Ratio (INR) within the therapeutic range.

Objective: We will use a Short Message Service (SMS) to evaluate the effect of a reminder on carrying out the INR laboratory test in a timely manner.

Methods: This study (a Randomized Controlled Trial) will be done in Loghman hospital Tehran, Iran. Convenience sampling will be done and 400 AF patients that have inclusion criteria will be randomized equally to an intervention or control group. Patients in the intervention group will receive an SMS that will remind them of the INR test date. The SMS will be sent at 6 PM on the day before and 8 AM on the scheduled date but the patients of the control group will receive usual care without any SMS reminders. We will evaluate the effect of reminders on carrying out the INR test in a timely manner and maintaining the INR in the therapeutic range. Patients' follow-up will be done via telephone conversation to identify thromboembolic events, bleeding and mortality. The data will be analyzed by IBM SPSS version 24. We will use independent samples t-test or Mann–Whitney and Chi-square tests for the analyses of outcomes. 

Discussion: This protocol describes the randomized control trial to study the effects of the SMS reminder system on adherence to the timing of INR test in AF patients treated with warfarin. The research will also form the basis for future decision support systems for monitoring of patients who receive oral anticoagulants. 

Trial registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (http://www.irct.ir) was used to register the trial and IRCT ID was IRCT2016052528070N1.

Funding: This research was supported by Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.

References

Hendriks, J. L., Nieuwlaat, R., Vrijhoef, H. J., de Wit, R. ,Crijns, H. J., Tieleman, R. G., Atrial fibrillation

pathophysiology. Circulation, 2011. 124(20): 2264-74. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.111.019893,

PMid: 22083148

January, Craig T, Wann, L Samuel, Alpert, Joseph S, Calkins, Hugh, Cigarroa, Joaquin E, Cleveland,

Joseph C, et al., 2014 AHA/ACC/HRS guideline for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation.

Circulation, 2014. 130(23): e199-e267. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000041, PMid: 24682347, PMCid:

PMC4676081

Hylek, E. M., Evans-Molina, C., Shea, C., Henault, L. E., Regan, S., Major hemorrhage and tolerability of

warfarin in the first year of therapy among elderly patients with atrial fibrillation. Circulation, 2007.

(21): 2689-96. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.106.653048, PMid: 17515465

Camm, A. J., Lip, G. Y., De Caterina, R., Savelieva, I., Atar, D., Hohnloser, S. H., et al., 2012 focused

update of the ESC Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation. Eur Heart J, 2012: ehs253.

Vallerand, A.H., C.A. Sanoski, and J.H. Deglin, Davis's Canadian Drug Guide for Nurses. 2016: FA Davis.

Baker, W. L., Cios, D. A., Sander, S. D., Coleman, C. I., Meta-analysis to assess the quality of warfarin

control in artial fibrillation patients in the United States. Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy, 2009. 15(3):

-52. doi: 10.18553/jmcp.2009.15.3.244, PMid: 19326955

Jones, M., McEwan, P., Morgan, C. L., Peters, J. R., Goodfellow, J., Currie, C. J., Evaluation of the pattern

of treatment, level of anticoagulation control, and outcome of treatment with warfarin in patients with non- valvar atrial fibrillation: a record linkage study in a large British population. Heart, 2005. 91(4): 472-7. doi:

1136/hrt.2004.042465, PMid: 15772203, PMCid: PMC1768813

Ageno, W., Gallus, A. S., Wittkowsky, A., Crowther, M., Hylek, E. M., Palareti, G., Oral anticoagulant

therapy: Antithrombotic Therapy and Prevention of Thrombosis, 9th ed: American College of Chest

Physicians Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines. Chest, 2012. 141(2 Suppl): e44S-88S.

Kim, J. H., Song, Y. B., Shin, D. H., Kim, J. S., Choi, J. O., On, Y. K., et al., How well does the target INR

level maintain in warfarin-treated patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation? Yonsei Med J, 2009. 50(1):

-8. doi: 10.3349/ymj.2009.50.1.83, PMid: 19259353, PMCid: PMC2649856

Ludlow, H., J. Hurley, and S. Dolwani, Using email and text messaging to improve patient compliance with

blood monitoring. Nurs Times, 2009. 105(28): 26-8.

Prasad, S. and R. Anand, Use of mobile telephone short message service as a reminder: the effect on patient

attendance. Int Dent J, 2012. 62(1): 21-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1875-595X.2011.00081.x, PMid: 22251033

Nuti L, Turkcan A, Lawley MA, Zhang L, Sands L, McComb S, The impact of interventions on

appointment and clinical outcomes for individuals with diabetes: a systematic review. BMC Health Serv

Res, 2015. 15: 355. doi: 10.1186/s12913-015-0938-5, PMid: 26330299, PMCid: PMC4557865

Liu Q, Abba K, Alejandria MM, Sinclair D, Balanag VM, Lansang MA., Reminder systems to improve

patient adherence to tuberculosis clinic appointments for diagnosis and treatment. Cochrane Database Syst

Rev, 2014. 11: CD006594. doi: 10.1002/14651858.cd006594.pub3

Henderson, R., Encouraging attendance at outpatient appointments: can we do more? Scottish medical

journal, 2008. 53(1): 9-12. doi: 10.1258/rsmsmj.53.1.9, PMid: 18422203

Rohman L, Maruswezki D, Boyce Cam N, The impact of short message service text messages sent as

appointment reminders to patients' cell phones at outpatient clinics in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Int J Med Inform,

79(1): 65-70. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2009.09.001, PMid: 19783204

Martin, C., T. Perfect, and G. Mantle, Non-attendance in primary care: the views of patients and practices

on its causes, impact and solutions. Fam Pract, 2005. 22(6): 638-43. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmi076, PMid:

Wike, R. and R. Oates, Emerging nations embrace internet, mobile technology: cell phones nearly

ubiquitous in many countries. Pew Research Center, Washington DC.

Kannisto, K.A., M.H. Koivunen, and M.A. Valimaki, Use of mobile phone text message reminders in

health care services: a narrative literature review. J Med Internet Res, 2014. 16(10): e222.

Guy R, Hocking J, Wand H, Stott S, Ali H, Kaldor J., How effective are short message service reminders at

increasing clinic attendance? A meta-analysis and systematic review. Health Serv Res, 2012. 47(2): 614-32.

doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2011.01342.x, PMid: 22091980, PMCid: PMC3419880

Chen ZW, Fang LZ, Chen LY, Dai HL, Comparison of an SMS text messaging and phone reminder to

improve attendance at a health promotion center: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Zhejiang

University Science B, 2008. 9(1): 34-8. doi: 10.1631/jzus.B071464, PMid: 18196610, PMCid:

PMC2170466

Lip GY, Nieuwlaat R, Pisters R, Lane DA, Crijns HJ, Refining clinical risk stratification for predicting

stroke and thromboembolism in atrial fibrillation using a novel risk factor-based approach: the euro heart

survey on atrial fibrillation. Chest, 2010. 137(2): 263-72. doi: 10.1378/chest.09-1584, PMid: 19762550

Min, J. and M.U. Farooq, Detecting nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and anticoagulant therapy in

cardioembolic ischemic stroke. Postgrad Med, 2016. 128(6): 620-8. doi: 10.1080/00325481.2016.1195236,

PMid: 27263867

Kirchhof, P., Benussi, S., Kotecha, D., Ahlsson, A., Atar, D., Casadei, B., et al., 2016 ESC Guidelines for

the Management of Atrial Fibrillation Developed in Collaboration With EACTS. Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl

Ed), 2017. 70(1): 50.

Suresh, K., An overview of randomization techniques: An unbiased assessment of outcome in clinical

research. J Hum Reprod Sci, 2011. 4(1): 8-11. doi: 10.4103/0974-1208.82352, PMid: 21772732. PMCid:

PMC3136079

Nieuwlaat R, Connolly SJ, Mackay JA, Weise-Kelly L, Navarro T, Wilczynski NL, et al., Computerized

clinical decision support systems for therapeutic drug monitoring and dosing: a decision-maker-researcher

partnership systematic review. Implementation Science, 2011. 6(1): 90.

Harrison, J., J.P. Shaw, and J.E. Harrison, Anticoagulation management by community pharmacists in New

Zealand: an evaluation of a collaborative model in primary care. Int J Pharm Pract, 2015. 23(3): 173-81.

doi: 10.1111/ijpp.12148, PMid: 25250655

Schulz, K.F., D.G. Altman, and D. Moher, CONSORT 2010 statement: updated guidelines for reporting

parallel group randomised trials. BMC medicine, 2010. 8(1): 18. doi: 10.1186/1741-7015-8-18, PMid:

, PMCid: PMC2860339

Published

2022-01-18

Issue

Section

Articles