Hamostaseologie
DOI: 10.1055/a-2229-8047
Original Article

Oral Anticoagulation and Mortality in Cases with Intracranial Bleeding: Analysis of Nationwide Prescription and Hospitalization Data

Knut Kröger
1   Clinic of Vascular Medicine, HELIOS Klinik Krefeld, Germany
,
Fabian Heldt
1   Clinic of Vascular Medicine, HELIOS Klinik Krefeld, Germany
,
Ludger Feyen
2   Clinic of Radiology, HELIOS Klinik Krefeld, Germany
,
Kathrin Feller
3   Clinic for Plastic Surgery, HELIOS Klinik Krefeld, Germany
,
Bernd Kowall
4   Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University Hospital Essen, Germany
,
Andreas Stang
4   Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University Hospital Essen, Germany
5   Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
› Author Affiliations
Funding None.
 

Abstract

Objectives To demonstrate the safety of direct oral anticoagulants in relation to intracranial bleeding (ICB), we compared the number of patients taking anticoagulants in all cases of hospitalization and cases of hospitalization for ICB over time in Germany. We analyzed the intrahospital mortality of ICB cases in relation to long-term use of anticoagulants (LUAs).

We performed a retrospective registry analysis of nationwide German hospitalizations including all hospital admissions and admission for ICB in patients aged ≥60 years in the period from 2006 to 2020 and separated for LUAs.

Results In 2006, the age-standardized rate of hospitalized male patients with LUAs was 7.3% and that of female patients was 5.6%. In 2020, the rates increased to 22.0 and 17.7% for male and female patients, respectively. Among patients hospitalized for ICB in 2006, 7.0 and 5.6% were male and female patients with LUAs, respectively. In 2020, the rate increased to 13.7% for males and 10.8% for females.

In 2006, age-standardized mortality rates of male and female patients with ICB without LUAs were 24.1 and 23.9%, respectively. In 2020, the rate slightly decreased to 22.7% in males, but it remained almost unchanged in females at 23.8%. In the cases with LUA, the mortality rate decreased from 30.1 to 24.3% in males and from 28.4 to 24.2% in females in the same period.

Conclusion LUA seems to be safe because there is a slower increase of the rate of LUAs in ICB cases than in generally hospitalized cases in the period from 2006 to 2020. In addition, mortality in ICB cases with LUA tends to decrease compared to cases without LUA.


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Introduction

Intracranial bleedings (ICBs) occur as a consequence of craniocerebral trauma or without external influence in 20% of strokes, in coagulation disorders, or disorders of blood vessels (aneurysms, arteriovenous malformation).[1]

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) entered the market in 2008 and have become widely used since 2010. Their advantages over vitamin K antagonists (VKA) in terms of practicability and bleeding rates increased their acceptance.[2] A meta-analysis on the risk of ICB among DOACs or VKAs in patients aged ≥75 years described a significantly reduced risk for DOACs with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.58 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.50–0.67).[3] A meta-analysis of 19 trials comparing hematoma volume, hematoma expansion, and mortality in VKA-ICB versus non-anticoagulation-associated ICB established a more unfavorable course of all these parameters in VKA-ICB patients.[4] A recent study including 193 ICB patients showed significantly smaller hematoma volumes under DOACs in comparison to VKAs and a significantly lower 30-day intrahospital mortality rate of DOAC-ICB, even before the introduction of specific antidotes.[5]

DOACs might have affected the ICB rate in Germany by different aspects. The prescription rates of DOACs have increased dramatically over the last decade in Germany,[6] which could have led to more ICB cases. The lower bleeding risk of DOACs might have compensated for such an increase. If DOACs cause smaller intracranial bleeding generally, overall mortality in ICB cases should have decreased.

To look for these effects in the German population, we compared the nationwide time trends of general hospitalization and hospitalization for ICB with and without long-term use of anticoagulants (LUAs) in Germany and finally intrahospital mortality of ICBs dependent on LUAs.


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Patients and Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study including the nationwide hospitalization data documented in the Diagnosis-Related Groups Statistic (DRG). The nationwide hospitalization data documented in the DRG represent an annual survey of all hospital cases in Germany that were accounted for by case rates. All the hospitals in Germany annually transfer their individual hospitalization data, including one primary diagnosis, up to 89 secondary diagnoses coded by ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition), and up to 100 medical procedures according to a national classification of operations and procedures to the Institute for the Hospital Remuneration System (InEK). After a plausibility control, the InEK forwards anonymized data to the Federal Bureau of Statistics. The principles of the analysis of this hospitalization file have been published several times previously.[7] [8]

In brief, we asked the Federal Bureau of Statistics to identify all hospitalizations in the period from 2006 to 2020 that have a principal diagnosis of ICB (I60: subarachnoid bleeding and I61: intracerebral bleeding) by calendar year, sex, and 5-year age groups. Among these cases, we looked for those with LUAs, defined as the additional diagnosis of “personal history of long-term (current) use of anticoagulants” (ICD code Z92.1). Finally, we received a defined data set from the Federal Bureau of Statistics including this information from all fully reimbursed inpatient cases. For this analysis, we included all the patients aged ≥60 years.

The primary outcome was intrahospital mortality documented in the DRG. According to the occupational regulations for the North Rhine-Westphalian physicians, retrospective epidemiological research projects are specifically excluded from the requirement of an ethical approval. Specific linking of cases and procedures is possible but not allowed for legal reasons. Thus, institutional review board approval and patients' informed consent were not necessary for this study.

For all hospitalized patients without I60/I61, we calculated the age-standardized proportions of patients with anticoagulation for 2006 to 2020 separately for men and women—hospitalized patients from 2006 were used as reference population for the age standardization. The same was done for patients with I60/I61—here all patients with I60/I61 from 2006 were used as the reference population.

For patients with I60/I61, sex-specific age-standardized mortality was calculated for 2006 to 2020 separately for patients with and without anticoagulation—all the patients with I60/I61 from 2006 were used as the reference population. Calculations were done using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, United States).


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Results

Long-Term Use of Anticoagulants

In 2006, a total of 8,026,468 patients were hospitalized. The age-standardized rate of male patients with LUAs was 7.3% (95%CI: 7.3–7.3) and that of female patients was 5.6% (95% CI: 5.6–5.6; [Table 1], [Fig. 1]). In 2020, hospitalized cases increased to 8,921,978 and the rate of males with LUAs increased to 22.0% (95% CI: 21.9–22.0) and that of females to 17.7% (95% CI: 17.6–17.7). Among all cases hospitalized for ICB in 2006 (n = 30,792), the rate of males with LUAs was 7.0% (95% CI: 6.5–7.4) and that of females with LUAs was 5.6% (95% CI: 5.3–6.0). In 2020, cases with ICB sum up to 31,650. The rates of males and females with LUA increased to 13.7% (95% CI: 13.1–14.3) and 10.8% (95% CI: 10.3–11.3), respectively.

Table 1

Gender-specific age-standardized proportions of patients with anticoagulation among hospitalized patients with and without I60/I61, Germany, 2006–2020

All hospitalized cases without I60/I61

All hospitalized cases with I60/I61

Year

Cases with anticoagulation[a]

All cases

Age-standardized proportions of cases with anticoagulation[b] (95% CI)

Cases with anticoagulation[a]

All cases

Age-standardized proportions of cases with anticoagulation[b] (95% CI)

Males

2006

266,061

3,696,195

7.3 (7.3–7.3)

1,041

14,524

7.0 (6.5–7.4)

2007

307,783

3,829,611

8.2 (8.1–8.2)

1,255

14,767

8.2 (7.8–8.7)

2008

348,199

3,948,099

9.0 (8.9–9.0)

1,571

14,944

10.2 (9.7–10.7)

2009

395,130

4,069,876

9.9 (9.9–9.9)

1,693

14,721

11.1 (10.6–11.6)

2010

429,206

4,172,491

10.5 (10.4–10.5)

1,583

15,512

10.9 (10.4–11.4)

2011

468,658

4,285,188

11.1 (11.1–11.2)

1,790

15,071

11.4 (10.9–12.0)

2012

518,113

4,405,730

12.0 (11.9–12.0)

1,932

15,341

12.2 (11.6–12.7)

2013

574,544

4,485,581

13.0 (13.0–13.1)

2,124

15,430

13.2 (12.7–13.8)

2014

653,868

4,598,306

14.5 (14.5–14.5)

2,417

16,246

14.5 (13.9–15.1)

2015

717,707

4,702,323

15.6 (15.6–15.6)

2,172

16,582

12.6 (12.1–13.2)

2016

790,771

4,777,214

17.0 (16.9–17.0)

2,079

16,391

12.1 (11.5–12.6)

2017

854,078

4,858,479

18.1 (18.0–18.1)

2,113

16,517

12.1 (11.6–12.6)

2018

924,302

4,887,536

19.5 (19.5–19.5)

2,067

15,918

12.3 (11.8–12.9)

2019

1,007,251

4,995,100

20.8 (20.7–20.8)

2,266

16,231

13.4 (12.8–13.9)

2020

941,602

4,433,437

22.0 (21.9–22.0)

2,198

15,362

13.7 (13.1–14.3)

Females

2006

242,058

4,330,273

5.6 (5.6–5.6)

942

16,268

5.6 (5.3–6.0)

2007

279,453

4,458,099

6.2 (6.2–6.2)

1,088

16,689

6.3 (5.9–6.7)

2008

317,518

4,579,632

6.8 (6.8–6.8)

1,354

16,696

7.5 (7.1–7.9)

2009

357,424

4,668,066

7.5 (7.4–7.5)

1,406

16,531

8.0 (7.5–8.4)

2010

387,510

4,736,357

7.9 (7.9–8.0)

1,465

16,816

7.9 (7.5–8.4)

2011

429,878

4,822,912

8.6 (8.6–8.6)

1,660

16,559

9.1 (8.7–9.6)

2012

474,608

4,907,488

9.3 (9.3–9.3)

1,692

16,743

9.2 (8.7–9.7)

2013

526,353

4,954,533

10.1 (10.1–10.1)

1,843

16,704

9.9 (9.4–10.4)

2014

602,340

5,048,069

11.3 (11.3–11.3)

2,049

17,114

10.8 (10.2–11.3)

2015

658,984

5,085,417

12.2 (12.2–12.3)

1,950

17,952

9.4 (9.0–9.9)

2016

728,668

5,126,454

13.4 (13.4–13.5)

1,939

17,466

9.6 (9.1–10.1)

2017

788,314

5,161,908

14.4 (14.3–14.4)

1,883

17,259

9.4 (8.9–9.8)

2018

849,844

5,129,426

15.6 (15.5–15.6)

1,995

16,794

10.1 (9.6–10.6)

2019

917,773

5,186,912

16.6 (16.5–16.6)

1,999

16,941

10.1 (9.6–10.5)

2020

846,482

4,488,541

17.7 (17.6–17.7)

2,055

16,288

10.8 (10.3–11.3)

Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval.


a Anticoagulation = ICD-10 code Z92.1 (long-term (current) use of anticoagulation).


b Reference population: hospitalized patients without I60/I61 in 2006.


Zoom Image
Fig. 1 Visualization of gender-specific age-standardized proportions of patients with anticoagulation among hospitalized patients with and without I60/I61, Germany, 2006–2020 I60: subarachnoid bleeding; I61: intracerebral bleeding; ICD-10 Z92.1 (long-term, current, use of anticoagulation); CI: confidence interval; weights for age-standardization from hospitalized patients without I60/I61 in 2006.

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Mortality of ICB Cases

In 2006, the age-standardized mortality rates in all ICB cases without LUAs in males and females were 24.1% (95% CI: 23.2–25.0) and 23.9% (95% CI: 23.1–24.6), respectively. In 2020, these mortality rates slightly decreased to 22.7% (95% CI: 21.9–23.5) in males and remained almost unchanged at 23.8% (95% CI: 22.9–24.6) in females ([Table 2], [Fig. 2]). In patients with LUAs, the mortality rates decreased form 30.1 (95% CI: 25.7–34.5) to 24.3% (95% CI: 22.1–26.5) in males and from 28.4 (95% CI: 24.7–32.1) to 24.2% (95% CI: 21.6–26.9) in females in the same period.

Table 2

Gender-specific age-standardized case fatality (%) in persons with I60/I61 stratified by long-term use of anticoagulation, Germany, 2006–2020

Without long-term (current) use of anticoagulation[a]

With long-term (current) use of anticoagulation[a]

Year

No. of dead persons with I60/I61

No. of persons with I60/I61

Age-standardized case fatality (%) in persons with I60/I61 (95% CI)[b]

No. of dead persons with I60/I61

No. of persons with I60/I61

Age-standardized case fatality (%) in persons with I60/I61 (95% CI)[b]

Males

2006

3,088

13,483

24.1 (23.2–25.0)

301

1,041

30.1 (25.7–34.5)

2007

2,979

13,512

23.1 (22.2–23.9)

358

1,255

29.5 (25.5–33.6)

2008

2,927

13,373

22.6 (21.7–23.4)

395

1,571

23.2 (20.8–25.6)

2009

2,669

13,028

21.3 (20.5–22.1)

453

1,693

24.8 (22.4–27.2)

2010

2,849

13,776

21.2 (20.4–22.0)

467

1,736

25.2 (22.7–27.7)

2011

2,778

13,291

21.2 (20.4–22.0)

506

1,790

28.1 (25.3–30.8)

2012

2,792

13,409

21.0 (20.2–21.8)

520

1,932

26.0 (23.5–28.5)

2013

2,758

13,306

20.7 (19.9–21.5)

549

2,124

23.9 (21.7–26.1)

2014

2,843

13,829

20.5 (19.7–21.2)

643

2,417

24.5 (22.4–26.5)

2015

3,169

14,410

21.6 (20.8–22.4)

550

2,172

23.8 (21.6–26.0)

2016

3,073

14,312

21.0 (20.2–21.8)

504

2,079

21.5 (19.4–23.7)

2017

3,235

14,404

21.6 (20.9–22.4)

569

2,113

23.9 (21.6–26.2)

2018

3,047

13,851

21.2 (20.4–22.0)

534

2,067

23.0 (20.8–25.2)

2019

3,201

13,965

21.9 (21.1–22.7)

548

2,266

20.4 (18.5–22.3)

2020

3,111

13,164

22.7 (21.9–23.5)

610

2,198

24.3 (22.1–26.5)

Females

2006

4,009

15,326

23.9 (23.1–24.6)

306

942

28.4 (24.7–32.1)

2007

3,994

15,601

23.1 (22.4–23.9)

324

1,088

25.3 (22.2–28.5)

2008

3,816

15,342

22.3 (21.6–23.1)

424

1,354

27.0 (23.7–30.3)

2009

3,669

15,125

21.5 (20.8–22.3)

440

1,406

28.1 (24.9–31.2)

2010

3,718

15,351

21.4 (20.6–22.1)

430

1,465

24.6 (21.6–27.5)

2011

3,609

14,899

21.4 (20.7–22.2)

492

1,660

25.5 (22.6–28.4)

2012

3,684

15,051

21.3 (20.6–22.2)

492

1,692

24.3 (21.6–27.1)

2013

3,577

14,861

21.1 (20.3–21.8)

552

1,843

24.2 (21.6–26.8)

2014

3,643

15,065

21.2 (20.5–22.0)

598

2,049

25.0 (22.3–27.8)

2015

3,997

16,002

21.8 (21.1–22.5)

553

1,950

24.7 (21.8–27.7)

2016

3,827

15,527

21.2 (20.5–22.0)

566

1,939

22.9 (20.3–25.4)

2017

3,939

15,376

22.2 (21.4–22.9)

515

1,883

21.0 (18.5–23.5)

2018

3,895

14,799

22.8 (22.0–23.6)

566

1,995

22.7 (20.0–25.4)

2019

3,914

14,942

22.3 (21.5–23.1)

568

1,999

21.5 (19.1–24.0)

2020

3,844

14,233

23.8 (22.9–24.6)

645

2,055

24.2 (21.6–26.9)

Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval.


a Anticoagulation = ICD-10 code Z92.1 (long-term [current] use of anticoagulation).


b Reference population: hospitalized patients without I60/I61 in 2006.


Zoom Image
Fig. 2 Gender-specific age-standardized case fatality (%) in persons with I60/I61 stratified by long-term use of anticoagulation, Germany, 2006–2020. I60: subarachnoid bleeding; I61: intracerebral bleeding; ICD-10 Z92.1 (long-term, current, use of anticoagulation); CI: confidence interval; weights for age standardization from hospitalized patients without I60/I61 in 2006.

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Discussion

Our analysis shows that the rates of cases hospitalized for ICB having LUAs do not follow the dramatic increase in LUA prescriptions and were much lower than the rates in all hospitalized cases, generally. The age-standardized mortality decreased continuously in those with LUAs but not in those without LUAs. This finding is all the more interesting as in the ICB cases without LUAs such a significant decrease is not present. Age-standardized mortality remains unchanged in females and decreases only slightly in males in this group.

A Global Burden of Disease Study reported the incidence of stroke in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019.[9] Ischemic stroke constituted 62.4% of all incidents of stroke in 2019, while ICB constituted 27.9% and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) constituted 9.7%. In France, data from the National Stroke Action Plan reported a decrease in age-standardized rates of patients hospitalized for ischemic stroke by 1.5% in those aged ≥65 years from 2008 to 2014. The rate of patients hospitalized for ICB was stable (+2.0%).[10] According to the Danish Stroke Registry, the rates of ischemic stroke and ICB declined in people aged ≥50 years, but the rate of ICB remained constant at 11.2 to 11.4% in the period from 2005 to 2018.[11] The rate of anticoagulants in the ICB cases increased from 5.9 to 10.4%. Another report from Denmark reported that from 2005 to 2018, use of antithrombotic drugs, especially VKAs, was associated with ICB. Although use of oral anticoagulants (OACs) in the general population increased substantially during the study period from 3.8 to 11.1%, the incidence rate of ICB decreased.[12] An increase in the prescription rate of DOACs is reported worldwide.[13] Sheth et al analyzed British multisource health and prescription records data to investigate the association between prescription rate of DOACs and stroke/bleed events during the period from 2013 to 2016.[14] During the study period, the proportion of DOAC prescriptions increased at an average rate of 122% per annum. DOAC prescription was associated with 50% reduction in ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. Among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) with prior ICB, DOAC use was associated with lower rates of ICB and major bleeding compared with warfarin use, whereas the rate of ischemic stroke was similar in the two groups. A nationwide cohort study from Taiwan showed that compared with warfarin use, DOAC use was associated with a statistically significant lower risk of all-cause mortality and ICB.[15]

Our results show two different associations of ICBs and LUAs. First, the increase in LUAs is much lower in hospitalized ICB cases than in all the other cases. Second, mortality of ICB cases with LUAs decreases, whereas mortality in ICB cases without LUA does not.

We cannot really explain the first effect. As ICBs are triggered by LUAs, the rate of ICB in patients with LUAs should be higher than that in the general population. One possible explanation might be that the causes of LUA-associated ICBs and non-LUA-associated ICBs are different. The Oxford Community Stroke Project (OCSP; 1981–1986) and the Oxford Vascular Study (OXVASC; 2002–2006) reported exactly the opposite.[16] They reported that the incidence of ICB associated with premorbid hypertension dropped (0.37%; 95% CI: 0.20–0.69; p = 0.002), but the incidence of ICB associated with antithrombotic use increased (7.4%; 95% CI: 1.7–32; p = 0.007) resulting in substantially decreasing overall incidence of ICB (rate ratio: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.29–0.95; p = 0.03). Another explanation could be that preventive treatment of unruptured intracerebral aneurysm has increased.[17] Data from the National Inpatient Sample (2004–2014) were extracted, including patients with a primary diagnosis of a subarachnoid bleeding (SAB) or unruptured intracranial aneurysms treated by clipping or coiling. With each passing year, there is a significant decrease in relative risk ratio of undergoing treatment for an SAB, concomitant with a stable annual risk of undergoing treatment for unruptured intracranial aneurysms. This trend is supported by a study from Korea carried out in the period from 2005 to 2015 using the nationwide database of the Korean National Health Insurance Service in South Korea. The marked increase in the detection and treatment of unruptured aneurysm (UA) might have contributed to the decreasing incidence of SAH.[18] Such an increase in preventive UA treatment should affect both groups of ICB cases, those with and those without LUAs. A third reason could be that the population treated with LUAs has changed to a healthier population. The change from C, Herzinsuffizienz” Herzinsuffizienz (“Congestive heart failure”) 1; H, Hypertonie, auch behandelt (“Hypertension”) 1; A, Alter >75 Jahre (“Age”) 1; D, Diabetes mellitus (“Diabetes”) 1; S2, Vorangegangener Schlaganfall oder transitorische ischämische Attacke” TIA (“Stroke”) 2 (CHADS2 score) to Congestive heart failure (Herzinsuffizienz) 1 ; Hypertension 1; Age (>75 Jahre) 2; Diabetes mellitus 1; Stroke / TIA 2; Vascular disease (z.B. pAVK, vorangegangener Herzinfarkt, schwere Verkalkung der Aorta) 1; Age (65–74 Jahre) 1; Sex category (weibliches Geschlecht) 1 (CHA2DS2-VASc score) increases the rate of patients with AF who should have OACs from 66 to 94%.[19] [20] AF patients were treated with LUAs because of minor criteria such as a female with other vascular diseases. It is unclear which of these three aspects have the largest impact on our findings. Given the differences between our data and data from other countries, more information on the type of anticoagulation and primary diagnosis as well as cause of bleeding in patients without anticoagulation would be necessary.

The second finding might be explained by the differences in stroke volume associated with DOACs. Patients with DOAC ICB showed lower ICB volume and better clinical outcomes than patients with warfarin ICB.[21] The onset of warfarin ICB was frequently observed in the morning and evening delaying diagnosis and treatment, whereas DOAC ICB did not show any specific onset time. In contrast, there is lack of a decrease in age-standardized mortality in female ICB cases without LUAs and only a slight decrease in males in the observation period of 15 years, which is more difficult to explain. A population-based study from South Texas reported a decrease in ICB incidence, but an unchanged case fatality and long-term mortality in the period from 2000 to 2010.[22] A systematic review from 2019 reported no significant reduction of mortality at 1 month (–0.4% per year; 95% CI: –1.0 to 0.2; p = 0.155) in the last three decades.[23] A population-based cohort study from Denmark analyzed the mortality in ICB patients from 2004 to 2017 and found an improvement over time in the unadjusted mortality rate after 30 days.[24] They discussed the changes in the risk profile, the increasing proportion of less severe strokes, and improvements by early admission of ICB patients to specialized stroke care units as possible explanations. Such effects should have influenced the ICB mortality in patients without LUAs in Germany as well.

Strength and Limitation

A major strength of this study is the large data set, which includes virtually all German hospitals. This allows a unique view at the current clinical practice. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, there is currently no other publication addressing this topic from a population-based viewpoint in Germany.

However, there are factors that limit our results. First, our study design did not allow control for confounding including indications for treatment, quality of treatment, polypharmacy, and relevant comorbidities. Second, the analyses are not on a per-patient basis, and patients may be included multiple times. Moreover, the DRG data do not allow for the differentiation between first-line treatments and revision procedures. Third, we cannot assess if and how coding errors may have impacted our analysis. Thus, undercoding can be assumed, especially for the use of anticoagulants (ICD code Z92.1)


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#

Conclusion

Our results show that the increase in LUAs in ICB cases is much lower than that in the general hospitalized population. We also found a decrease in intrahospital mortality rates in ICB cases with LUAs from 2006 to 2020, but not in ICB cases without LUAs. We cannot explain the specific reasons for these differences, and further research is needed with better knowledge of the cases.


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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We thank Referat VIII A 1 from the Federal Statistical Office for extracting and providing the data from the DRG-Statistik.

Author Contributions

K.K. contributed to the conception and design of the study, acquisition of data (laboratory or clinical), drafting of the article and/or critical revision, and final approval of the manuscript.


F.H. and K.F. contributed to the conception and design of the study, acquisition of data (laboratory or clinical), analysis of data, drafting of the article and/or critical revision, and final approval of the manuscript. L.F. contributed to the conception and design of study, drafting of the article and/or critical revision, and final approval of the manuscript. B.K. contributed to the conception and design of the study, analysis of data, drafting of the article and/or critical revision, and final approval of the manuscript. A.S. contributed to the conception and design of the study, drafting of the article and/or critical revision, and final approval of the manuscript.


Compliance with Ethical Standards

The authors declare that they have no potential conflicts of interest and include no research involving human participants and/or animals.


  • References

  • 1 Montaño A, Hanley DF, Hemphill III JC. Hemorrhagic stroke. Handb Clin Neurol 2021; 176: 229-248
  • 2 Steffel J, Verhamme P, Potpara TS. et al; ESC Scientific Document Group. The 2018 European Heart Rhythm Association Practical Guide on the use of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants in patients with atrial fibrillation. Eur Heart J 2018; 39 (16) 1330-1393
  • 3 Grymonprez M, Steurbaut S, De Backer TL, Petrovic M, Lahousse L. Effectiveness and safety of oral anticoagulants in older patients with atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11: 583311
  • 4 Seiffge DJ, Goeldlin MB, Tatlisumak T. et al. Meta-analysis of haematoma volume, haematoma expansion and mortality in intracerebral haemorrhage associated with oral anticoagulant use. J Neurol 2019; 266 (12) 3126-3135
  • 5 Pfeilschifter W, Lindhoff-Last E, Alhashim A. et al; RADOA-Registry Investigators (Reversal Agent use in patients treated with Direct Oral Anticoagulants or vitamin K antagonists Registry). Intracranial bleeding under vitamin K antagonists or direct oral anticoagulants: results of the RADOA registry. Neurol Res Pract 2022; 4 (01) 16
  • 6 von Beckerath O, Paulitschek AM, Kröger K, Kowall B, Santosa F, Stang A. Increasing use of anticoagulants in Germany and its impact on hospitalization rates for genitourinary bleeding. J Thromb Thrombolysis 2020; 49 (04) 533-539
  • 7 Stang A, Kääb-Sanyal V, Hense HW, Becker N, Kuss O. Effect of mammography screening on surgical treatment for breast cancer: a nationwide analysis of hospitalization rates in Germany 2005-2009. Eur J Epidemiol 2013; 28 (08) 689-696
  • 8 Stang A, Stang K, Stegmaier C, Hakulinen T, Jöckel KH. Skin melanoma in Saarland: incidence, survival and mortality 1970-1996. Eur J Cancer Prev 2001; 10 (05) 407-415
  • 9 GBD 2019 Stroke Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of stroke and its risk factors, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet Neurol 2021; 20 (10) 795-820
  • 10 Lecoffre C, de Peretti C, Gabet A. et al. National trends in patients hospitalized for stroke and stroke mortality in France, 2008 to 2014. Stroke 2017; 48 (11) 2939-2945
  • 11 Skajaa N, Adelborg K, Horváth-Puhó E. et al. Nationwide trends in incidence and mortality of stroke among younger and older adults in Denmark. Neurology 2021; 96 (13) e1711-e1723
  • 12 Hald SM, Möller S, García Rodríguez LA. et al. Trends in incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage and association with antithrombotic drug use in Denmark, 2005-2018. JAMA Netw Open 2021; 4 (05) e218380
  • 13 Alcusky M, McManus DD, Hume AL, Fisher M, Tjia J, Lapane KL. Changes in anticoagulant utilization among United States nursing home residents with atrial fibrillation from 2011 to 2016. J Am Heart Assoc 2019; 8 (09) e012023
  • 14 Sheth H, McNally D, Santibanez-Koref M, Burn J. Association of stroke and bleed events in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients with direct oral anticoagulant prescriptions in NHS England between 2013 and 2016. PLoS One 2019; 14 (06) e0218878
  • 15 Tsai CT, Liao JN, Chiang CE. et al. Association of ischemic stroke, major bleeding, and other adverse events with warfarin use vs non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant use in patients with atrial fibrillation with a history of intracranial hemorrhage. JAMA Netw Open 2020; 3 (06) e206424
  • 16 Lovelock CE, Molyneux AJ, Rothwell PM. Oxford Vascular Study. Change in incidence and aetiology of intracerebral haemorrhage in Oxfordshire, UK, between 1981 and 2006: a population-based study. Lancet Neurol 2007; 6 (06) 487-493
  • 17 Salem MM, Maragkos GA, Gomez-Paz S. et al. Trends of ruptured and unruptured aneurysms treatment in the United States in post-ISAT era: a national inpatient sample analysis. J Am Heart Assoc 2021; 10 (04) e016998
  • 18 Lee WK, Oh CW, Lee H, Lee KS, Park H. Factors influencing the incidence and treatment of intracranial aneurysm and subarachnoid hemorrhage: time trends and socioeconomic disparities under an universal healthcare system. J Neurointerv Surg 2019; 11 (02) 159-165
  • 19 Lip GY, Frison L, Halperin J, Lane D. Identifying patients at risk of stroke despite anticoagulation. Stroke 2010; 41: 2731-2738
  • 20 Lip GY, Huber K, Andreotti F. et al; Consensus Document of European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Thrombosis. Antithrombotic management of atrial fibrillation patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome and/or undergoing coronary stenting: executive summary: a Consensus Document of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Thrombosis, endorsed by the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) and the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI). Eur Heart J 2010; 31 (11) 1311-1318
  • 21 Kawabori M, Niiya Y, Iwasaki M. et al. Characteristics of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage in patient receiving direct oral anticoagulants: comparison with warfarin. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2018; 27 (05) 1338-1342
  • 22 Zahuranec DB, Lisabeth LD, Sánchez BN. et al. Intracerebral hemorrhage mortality is not changing despite declining incidence. Neurology 2014; 82 (24) 2180-2186
  • 23 Pinho J, Costa AS, Araújo JM, Amorim JM, Ferreira C. Intracerebral hemorrhage outcome: a comprehensive update. J Neurol Sci 2019; 398: 54-66
  • 24 Pedersen TGB, Vinter N, Schmidt M. et al. Trends in the incidence and mortality of intracerebral hemorrhage, and the associated risk factors, in Denmark from 2004 to 2017. Eur J Neurol 2022; 29 (01) 168-177

Address for correspondence

K. Kröger, MD
Klinik für Gefäßmedizin, Helios Klinikum Krefeld
Lutherplatz 40, 47805 Krefeld
Germany   

Publication History

Received: 22 July 2023

Accepted: 14 December 2023

Article published online:
05 February 2024

© 2024. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

  • References

  • 1 Montaño A, Hanley DF, Hemphill III JC. Hemorrhagic stroke. Handb Clin Neurol 2021; 176: 229-248
  • 2 Steffel J, Verhamme P, Potpara TS. et al; ESC Scientific Document Group. The 2018 European Heart Rhythm Association Practical Guide on the use of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants in patients with atrial fibrillation. Eur Heart J 2018; 39 (16) 1330-1393
  • 3 Grymonprez M, Steurbaut S, De Backer TL, Petrovic M, Lahousse L. Effectiveness and safety of oral anticoagulants in older patients with atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11: 583311
  • 4 Seiffge DJ, Goeldlin MB, Tatlisumak T. et al. Meta-analysis of haematoma volume, haematoma expansion and mortality in intracerebral haemorrhage associated with oral anticoagulant use. J Neurol 2019; 266 (12) 3126-3135
  • 5 Pfeilschifter W, Lindhoff-Last E, Alhashim A. et al; RADOA-Registry Investigators (Reversal Agent use in patients treated with Direct Oral Anticoagulants or vitamin K antagonists Registry). Intracranial bleeding under vitamin K antagonists or direct oral anticoagulants: results of the RADOA registry. Neurol Res Pract 2022; 4 (01) 16
  • 6 von Beckerath O, Paulitschek AM, Kröger K, Kowall B, Santosa F, Stang A. Increasing use of anticoagulants in Germany and its impact on hospitalization rates for genitourinary bleeding. J Thromb Thrombolysis 2020; 49 (04) 533-539
  • 7 Stang A, Kääb-Sanyal V, Hense HW, Becker N, Kuss O. Effect of mammography screening on surgical treatment for breast cancer: a nationwide analysis of hospitalization rates in Germany 2005-2009. Eur J Epidemiol 2013; 28 (08) 689-696
  • 8 Stang A, Stang K, Stegmaier C, Hakulinen T, Jöckel KH. Skin melanoma in Saarland: incidence, survival and mortality 1970-1996. Eur J Cancer Prev 2001; 10 (05) 407-415
  • 9 GBD 2019 Stroke Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of stroke and its risk factors, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet Neurol 2021; 20 (10) 795-820
  • 10 Lecoffre C, de Peretti C, Gabet A. et al. National trends in patients hospitalized for stroke and stroke mortality in France, 2008 to 2014. Stroke 2017; 48 (11) 2939-2945
  • 11 Skajaa N, Adelborg K, Horváth-Puhó E. et al. Nationwide trends in incidence and mortality of stroke among younger and older adults in Denmark. Neurology 2021; 96 (13) e1711-e1723
  • 12 Hald SM, Möller S, García Rodríguez LA. et al. Trends in incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage and association with antithrombotic drug use in Denmark, 2005-2018. JAMA Netw Open 2021; 4 (05) e218380
  • 13 Alcusky M, McManus DD, Hume AL, Fisher M, Tjia J, Lapane KL. Changes in anticoagulant utilization among United States nursing home residents with atrial fibrillation from 2011 to 2016. J Am Heart Assoc 2019; 8 (09) e012023
  • 14 Sheth H, McNally D, Santibanez-Koref M, Burn J. Association of stroke and bleed events in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients with direct oral anticoagulant prescriptions in NHS England between 2013 and 2016. PLoS One 2019; 14 (06) e0218878
  • 15 Tsai CT, Liao JN, Chiang CE. et al. Association of ischemic stroke, major bleeding, and other adverse events with warfarin use vs non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant use in patients with atrial fibrillation with a history of intracranial hemorrhage. JAMA Netw Open 2020; 3 (06) e206424
  • 16 Lovelock CE, Molyneux AJ, Rothwell PM. Oxford Vascular Study. Change in incidence and aetiology of intracerebral haemorrhage in Oxfordshire, UK, between 1981 and 2006: a population-based study. Lancet Neurol 2007; 6 (06) 487-493
  • 17 Salem MM, Maragkos GA, Gomez-Paz S. et al. Trends of ruptured and unruptured aneurysms treatment in the United States in post-ISAT era: a national inpatient sample analysis. J Am Heart Assoc 2021; 10 (04) e016998
  • 18 Lee WK, Oh CW, Lee H, Lee KS, Park H. Factors influencing the incidence and treatment of intracranial aneurysm and subarachnoid hemorrhage: time trends and socioeconomic disparities under an universal healthcare system. J Neurointerv Surg 2019; 11 (02) 159-165
  • 19 Lip GY, Frison L, Halperin J, Lane D. Identifying patients at risk of stroke despite anticoagulation. Stroke 2010; 41: 2731-2738
  • 20 Lip GY, Huber K, Andreotti F. et al; Consensus Document of European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Thrombosis. Antithrombotic management of atrial fibrillation patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome and/or undergoing coronary stenting: executive summary: a Consensus Document of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Thrombosis, endorsed by the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) and the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI). Eur Heart J 2010; 31 (11) 1311-1318
  • 21 Kawabori M, Niiya Y, Iwasaki M. et al. Characteristics of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage in patient receiving direct oral anticoagulants: comparison with warfarin. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2018; 27 (05) 1338-1342
  • 22 Zahuranec DB, Lisabeth LD, Sánchez BN. et al. Intracerebral hemorrhage mortality is not changing despite declining incidence. Neurology 2014; 82 (24) 2180-2186
  • 23 Pinho J, Costa AS, Araújo JM, Amorim JM, Ferreira C. Intracerebral hemorrhage outcome: a comprehensive update. J Neurol Sci 2019; 398: 54-66
  • 24 Pedersen TGB, Vinter N, Schmidt M. et al. Trends in the incidence and mortality of intracerebral hemorrhage, and the associated risk factors, in Denmark from 2004 to 2017. Eur J Neurol 2022; 29 (01) 168-177

Zoom Image
Fig. 1 Visualization of gender-specific age-standardized proportions of patients with anticoagulation among hospitalized patients with and without I60/I61, Germany, 2006–2020 I60: subarachnoid bleeding; I61: intracerebral bleeding; ICD-10 Z92.1 (long-term, current, use of anticoagulation); CI: confidence interval; weights for age-standardization from hospitalized patients without I60/I61 in 2006.
Zoom Image
Fig. 2 Gender-specific age-standardized case fatality (%) in persons with I60/I61 stratified by long-term use of anticoagulation, Germany, 2006–2020. I60: subarachnoid bleeding; I61: intracerebral bleeding; ICD-10 Z92.1 (long-term, current, use of anticoagulation); CI: confidence interval; weights for age standardization from hospitalized patients without I60/I61 in 2006.