Differences in oral anticoagulant prescriptions between specialists and non-specialists in patients with cardioembolic stroke caused by non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common disease encountered in daily practice; however, few patients with AF received oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy. This study focused on differences in OAC prescriptions and influencing factors between specialists (neurological and cardiovascular) and non-specialists. A retrospective comparative analysis was conducted on 480 patients with acute cardioembolic stroke caused by non-valvular AF who were admitted to our hospital between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020. All patients had visited our hospital or other hospitals for their underlying diseases. Overall, 232 (specialist group SG) and 248 patients (non-specialist group NSG) were examined by specialists and non-specialists, respectively. The NSG had a significantly lower percentage of OAC prescriptions on admission than the SG (P < 0.01), even after propensity score matching. Factors influencing OAC prescription in the SG were age, hypertension, paroxysmal AF, dementia, CHADS score, and antiplatelet drug use, while those in the NSG were a history of cerebral infarction, paroxysmal AF, dementia, and antiplatelet drug use [SG: age, odds ratio (OR) 0.919, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.865-0.976; hypertension, OR 0.266, 95% CI 0.099-0.713; paroxysmal AF, OR 0.189, 95% CI 0.055-0.658; dementia, OR 0.253, 95% CI 0.085-0.758; CHADS score, OR 2.833, 95% CI 1.682-4.942; and antiplatelet drug use, OR 0.072, 95% CI 0.025-0.206; NSG: cerebral infarction, OR 5.940, 95% CI 1.581-22.309; paroxysmal AF, OR 0.077, 95% CI 0.010-0.623; dementia, OR 0.077, 95% CI 0.014-0.438; and antiplatelet drug use, OR 0.024, 95% CI 0.004-0.152]. In conclusion, the OAC prescription rate was higher in patients with non-valvular AF whose family physicians were specialists at the time of cerebral infarction onset. In addition, in the SG, advanced age and hypertension were associated with not prescribing OAC, whereas a higher CHADS score was associated with the prescription of OACs. In the NSG, a history of cerebral infarction was associated with the prescription of OACs. Further, paroxysmal AF, antiplatelet drug use, and dementia were associated with non-OAC therapy in both the groups.