Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common clinical problem, particularly in the elderly. Dabigatran is indicated for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism, and the reduction of vascular mortality for patients with non-valvular atrial AF. The recommended daily dose of dabigatran is 150 mg every 12 hours. However, in patients aged 80 or older the recommended dose is 110 mg every 12 hours due to a high bleeding risk.

Purpose To study how dabigatran is prescribed in patients aged 80 or older and determine the number of older patients with non-recommended dosages of dabigatran.

Material and methods Observational descriptive study. Field of study: two tertiary hospitals and their reference areas. The target population consisted of 6 75 000 people. From January 2017 to July 2017, patients with a dabigatran prescription under the national health system coverage were studied. For statistical comparisons, the Student’s t test was used.

Results The number of patients with dabigatran prescriptions in our region were 992. The average age of patients was 75.4 years and 51.4% were females. Prescriptions were divided into 150 mg (460 patients, average age 68.2 years and 56.5% were males) 110 mg (512 patients, average age 81.6 years, p<001 vs. 150 mg, and 58.2% were females) and 75 mg (20 patients, average age 81.3 years and 55% were females).

Four hundred and nineteen patients aged 80 or older had dabigatran prescriptions. Doses prescribed were 150 mg (n=40, 9.5%), 110 mg (n=366; 87.4%) and 75 mg (n=13; 3.1%).

Conclusion Our data shows that most of the patients aged 80 or older in our region consume lower doses of dabigatran. The average age of patients is significantly higher in 110 mg prescriptions versus 150 mg. However, 9.5% of older patients receive non-recommended dosages of dabigatran. Interventions to improve prescriptions in older people are required.

No conflict of interest