Patient-Centred Care for Warfarin Management: A Pilot Study to Transition Care to High Risk Patients

May 24, 2022 updated by: University of Alberta
Warfarin remains the only oral anticoagulant effective in preventing stroke and valve thrombi for patients having mechanical heart valves (MHVs). Within Edmonton, Alberta, our pharmacist-directed and staffed Anticoagulation Clinic (AC) is referred all MHVs implanted, and now has ~450 active patients. The AC mandate is to work with patients to ensure they have a thorough understanding of their warfarin therapy and the factors that may impact its control. In European countries patients are often taught to manage their own warfarin therapy (=Patient Self-Management [PSM]) and achieve good warfarin control and outcomes. Despite advocating for a patient-centred approach for healthcare delivery in Alberta, no established programs (or funding models) exist to teach and provide ongoing support for PSM in North America. The patient population (namely MHVs) served at our AC offers a unique opportunity to implement PSM given they are already aware of their therapy and only require some extra training and support to assume their own management. While it is anticipated that an increase in pharmacist AC resources would be necessary to teach patients to self-manage, the establishment of a PSM program has the potential to free up AC resources in the long-term, allowing more patients to be managed with reducing waiting times for the AC. With infrastructure in place, the AC could serve as a centre of excellence for PSM, accepting referrals for this level of care from across the province. Given the patient-centred approach to care delivery in Alberta, it remains prudent to assess patient acceptability to the PSM approach to anticoagulation care delivery. As such, the primary objective of this randomized pilot study is to assess the effect of PSM compared to AC care on quality of life. Our results will inform a larger scale future trial.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

50 patients will receive a cover letter outlining their random selection for this study, along with the patient information sheet and consent form (with a return addressed, postage paid envelope). Patients will be encouraged to contact the AC and speak with the Principal Investigator (TB) regarding the research study, and all questions will be addressed. We will continue this mailing process until a total of 50 patients have consented to study. PSM within the context of this study may use either POC technology or standard venipuncture with the patient accessing the laboratory for results. After receipt of consent, patients will be required to pass a foundational exam (outlining the basics of anticoagulation therapy, most of which should be simple review for the patients managed within our AC).4,10 Upon successfully passing this multiple choice exam, patients will be randomized to AC care (with no changes implemented) or to PSM.

PSM Phase I: Preparatory Phase of Patient Training (~6weeks) During the initial preparatory phase lasting 6 weeks + 2 weeks, the AC will create a patient specific warfarin dosing nomogram, discuss the same with the patient and ensure clear understanding, while working through various scenarios with the patient (Appendix 1). The AC will ensure the patient has an established system to both retrieve INR results (via POC technology or standard venipuncture) as well as to document the INR results, warfarin dosing, any pertinent assessment factors, and next date to test the INR. The AC will empower the patient to be proactive with coming up with warfarin dose changes during this preparatory phase.

PSM Phase II: Patient Practical Training:

The AC will enrol the patient into the PSM practical training phase (lasting 3 months + 1 month). At this time, the patient will retrieve their result and establish a future warfarin dose and follow-up plan. This information will be transmitted to a single AC team member. Contact with anotherdiscussed with an AC team member and the ultimate dosing decision will be tracked to ascertain concordance of the patient's original plan to what was implemented during the follow-up visit with the to perform standard AC teamcare and management will occur, thereby enabling comparison of the patient's plan and the AC plan. During this phase, the AC plan will be implemented. At the end of this phase, patients must pass a multiple choice exam that provides practical cases targeting warfarin dose adjustment with next scheduled follow-up visit, and will then be positioned into the PSM arm of the study.

Patient Self-Management During the PSM phase (6 months +/- 1 month), contact will occur with the AC monthly to retrieve INR results and warfarin dose adjustments (information from the patient-based charting system). Key points of contact between the patient and the AC will be required, such as: INR results either > 5.0 or 0.5 INR units below the lower limit of their desired target INR range, initiation of interacting medications, illness, etc. Patients not demonstrating the ability to self-manage their own warfarin therapy will be encouraged to cross-over to AC care. At the end of 6 months, patient choice of AC care or PSM will be identified.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
58

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Alberta
      • Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2J3
        • University of Alberta

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

17 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • mechanical heart valve as the indication for warfarin
  • > 16 years of age
  • Warfarin therapy managed by the AC for at least the preceding 6 months
  • Anticipated duration of warfarin therapy to be lifelong
  • Previously adherent with medication
  • Competence judged by demonstrated ability to use drug-adjustment nomograms

Exclusion Criteria:

  • • Severe psychiatric disease

    • Significant language barrier
    • Clinician's judgment that the patient would be a poor candidate for study (with reason specified)
    • Known or anticipated procedure/surgery/intervention in the next year
    • Active participation in another study
    • Lack of access to the internet / email

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Patient Self-Management
Patients will go through a preparatory phase (creation of warfarin dosing chart, process for documentation and retrieval of labs), a practical training phase (formulate warfarin management plan with support) and then perform patient-self management of their own warfarin.
Other: Patient Self-Management
Patient will manage their own warfarin therapy.
No Intervention: Anticoagulation Clinic Care
Patients will not have their care altered, and will continue to be managed by our Anticoagulation Clinic.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The change in quality of life score (using the validated instruments DASS and Sawicki scale) between PSM and AC care.
Time Frame: 6 months
Duke Anticoagulation Satisfaction Scale (DASS) and Sawicki Scale
6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The proportion of patients completing PSM
Time Frame: 9 months
Beginning from consent and capturing stage at which patients withdrew (if applicable) namely the preparatory and practical training phases or PSM as well as those electing to continue PSM after study
9 months
Difference in the time in therapeutic INR range between those randomized to AC care versus PSM.
Time Frame: 6 months
Time in range will be calculated using the Rosendaal method.
6 months
The rate of ER and hospitalization for anticoagulant and non-anticoagulant reasons between AC care and PSM.
Time Frame: 6 months
presentations to hospital
6 months
The amount of time spent by the AC team for the AC group relative to the PSM group.
Time Frame: 9 months
the number of minutes taken for each arm, as a measure of resource use within the AC team.
9 months
Amongst the PSM group, to determine if strategies for self-managing warfarin therapy have made patients do so for other chronic diseases.
Time Frame: 6 months
a descriptive measure of translation of proactive management
6 months
Number of participants in AC care vs PSM that are dead at 5 years.
Time Frame: 5 years following study completion
mortality measure
5 years following study completion
Number of encounters in the PSM group that put forward warfarin dosing that is concordant with that of the AC and to provide descriptions of warfarin dose changes.
Time Frame: 3 months
assessed prior to entering the PSM phase
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Alberta

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Tammy Bungard, BSP, PharmD, University of Alberta

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 17, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 31, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 31, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 18, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 22, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 28, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 27, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 24, 2022

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Pro00052090

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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