{"id":49646,"date":"2021-02-19T20:02:19","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T19:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=49646"},"modified":"2021-02-20T16:33:14","modified_gmt":"2021-02-20T15:33:14","slug":"the-nice-draft-guidelines-for-the-management-of-atrial-fibrillation-need-key-revisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/02\/19\/the-nice-draft-guidelines-for-the-management-of-atrial-fibrillation-need-key-revisions\/","title":{"rendered":"The NICE draft guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation need key revisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) draft guidelines for the management of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) contain recommendations at odds with available scientific data and recently updated guidelines from learned societies worldwide. In our view, the draft guidelines severely limit<\/span> patient choice and access to appropriate treatments. [1,2]<\/span><\/p>\n

Good quality rhythm strips, which use modern technology are increasingly available in the home or at work, including hand-held ECG recorders , and can reliably identify AF. [<\/span>3] NICE\u2019s insistence on a 12-lead ECG to diagnose frequently paroxysmal arrhythmias such as AF is, in our view, unnecessary and imposes avoidable delays that miss opportunities for timely diagnosis and treatments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Patients with AF have higher risk of stroke, often with greater severity and functional impairment. [<\/span>4,5] Oral anticoagulants (OACs) provide effective prevention, but confer increased risk of major bleeding. NICE is unexpectedly recommending switching from the widely used HAS-BLED score<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>to the ORBIT (Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation) score, and say in these draft guidelines that ORBIT is the \u201c<\/span>most accurate tool to predict the risk of major bleeding<\/span>\u201d based on calibration. [1] Implementing ORBIT will likely cause confusion as UK healthcare professionals principally use HAS-BLED. Furthermore, HAS-BLED is supported by evidence and prospective trial data<\/span>\u00a0and widely validated across all AF patients (whether anticoagulated or not), whereas ORBIT lacks similar robust data and is tested only in selected cohorts already on OACs.<\/span> [6,7]<\/span>\u00a0We urge NICE to retain the HAS-BLED score to predict bleeding risk, but agree that bleeding risk scoring systems should not be used to withhold anticoagulation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our greatest concerns about these draft guidelines surround NICE now advocating just two approved “Direct” OACs (DOACs) instead of four.\u00a0 This impacts all patients with \u22651 stroke risk factor, removing access to once daily medication, withdrawing patient choice, limiting patients\u2019 options for tailored OAC therapy, and effectively rendering two DOACs (edoxaban and rivaroxaban) ineligible for AF. NICE\u2019s draft recommends switching once-daily DOACs or warfarin to twice-daily therapies, even for patients who are stable with their treatment. This introduces unnecessary risks without proven advantages.<\/span><\/p>\n

By claiming material differences between DOACs, NICE misrepresents publications showing absence of head-to-head data,<\/span> similarities among DOACs,<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>heterogeneity between DOAC studies affecting outcomes and adverse reactions, and meta-analyses where outcomes in the comparator \u201cwarfarin-treated\u201d arms differ substantially. [8-18]<\/span> Indirect comparisons of heterogeneous studies should not be over-interpreted or used to generate unjustified therapeutic recommendations in national guidelines. [<\/span>19-22]<\/p>\n

Long term preventative treatments, like stroke prevention, involve asymptomatic patients who may not immediately recognise the benefits of prolonged therapy. Poor adherence to medications accounts for ~50% of the shortfall in realising therapeutic goals,<\/span> while medicating once daily has superior adherence,<\/span> decreases non-adherence for chronic cardiovascular diseases,<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>is preferred by > 80% patients,<\/span> and polypharmacy associates with higher risk of stroke and mortality.\u00a0<\/span>We urge NICE to retain equivalent recommendations for all DOACs and not remove patient options and choice. [23-33]<\/span><\/p>\n

Catheter ablation is increasingly utilised to treat AF. Cryoballoon and radiofrequency are most commonly used, accounting for >500,000 ablations worldwide and >92% UK cases annually. Both appear equally effective in large, direct-comparison trials,<\/span> <\/b>with possibly fewer adverse events with cryoballoon. [34-36]<\/span> Cryoballoon involves significantly shorter procedure times, fewer repeat procedures<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>and seems more cost-effective. [37,38] <\/span>The safety, ease of use, and wide applicability of cryoballoon manifests superiority to drugs, even as first-line therapy. [<\/span>39,40] By not requiring specialised equipment, cryoablation provides deliverability in district hospitals. [<\/span>41] It is astonishing that NICE is downgrading cryoballoon, and instead recommending laser-balloon, which accounts for <0.02% of UK ablations. [<\/span>42] Changing practice wholesale to laser-balloon poses enormous challenges for implementation, including requiring physician-retraining and use of unfamiliar technology presenting significant safety implications. Meanwhile, European guidelines rightly observe, \u201cthe choice of energy source should depend on centre availability, operator preference\/experience, and patient preference.\u201d [<\/span>1] Most ablations are performed under conscious sedation, yet NICE recommends general anaesthesia. This offers no major advantages, introduces resource challenges, impacts on turnaround times, and poses additional procedural risks and needless strain on sustainability of many UK centres. [<\/span>43,44]<\/p>\n

Patient-clinician partnerships empower patient choice and individualised care, and we welcome NICE\u2019s recommendation of personalised packages of care and information. However, NICE provides no direction on how, or where, patients access appropriate information and help. We propose NICE signposts patients to organisations such as the AF Association, Arrhythmia Alliance, British Heart Foundation, Anticoagulation Europe and the Stroke Association.<\/span><\/p>\n

We urge the NICE guideline committee to preserve patient choice, access, and shared decision making. We also urge them to revisit the available evidence and reappraise their decisions regarding diagnosis of AF, choice of bleeding risk score, continued availability of all four DOACs to permit tailoring of OAC based on individual patients\u2019 risk profile and preferences, and maintaining support for cryoballoon catheter ablation, to ensure evidence-based clinical practice recommendations to deliver optimal patient care. The NICE guidelines miss the opportunity to support ongoing efforts for a structured management pathway to provide holistic, integrated care that has been proven in numerous studies to reduce adverse clinical outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Raj Mattu<\/strong>, <\/span>consultant cardiologist, Kettering General Hospital, Kettering & University College London, London, United Kingdom.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Dhiraj Gupta<\/strong>, <\/span>consultant cardiologist, Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Liverpool and Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital, Liverpool, United Kingdom.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Deirdre A Lane<\/strong>, reader in Cardiovascular Health,\u00a0Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Liverpool and Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital, Liverpool, United Kingdom<\/em><\/p>\n

Gregory Y H Lip<\/strong>, <\/span>professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Liverpool and Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital, Liverpool, United Kingdom.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Trudie Lobban<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span>Patient Representative,\u00a0Founder & CEO – Arrhythmia Alliance & AF Association, United Kingdom<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Muzahir H Tayebjee<\/strong>, <\/span>consultant cardiologist, West Yorkshire Arrhythmia Service, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds, United Kingdom<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

A John Camm<\/strong>, p<\/span>rofessor of clinical cardiology, Cardiac Clinical Academic Group, St. George\u2019s University of London, London, United Kingdom.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Not commissioned, Peer reviewed<\/em><\/p>\n

Competing interests:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

RM:<\/b> Nil<\/span><\/p>\n

DG<\/b>: has received institutional research grants from Boston Scientific, Medtronic and Biosense Webster, and personal advisory fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, Boston Scientific and Abbott<\/span><\/p>\n

DAL:<\/b> has received an investigator-initiated educational grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS); has been a speaker for Boehringer Ingelheim and BMS\/Pfizer; and has consulted for BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Daiichi-Sankyo<\/span><\/p>\n

GYHL:<\/b> Consultant for Bayer\/Janssen, BMS\/Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Verseon and Daiichi-Sankyo.\u00a0\u00a0Speaker for BMS\/Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Daiichi-Sankyo.\u00a0 No fees are directly received personally.<\/span><\/p>\n

TL: <\/b>Nil<\/span><\/p>\n

MHT:<\/b> has received research and educational grants from Medtronic, Biosense Webster and Abbott.<\/span><\/p>\n

AJC:<\/b> has received institutional grants from Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, Pfizer\/BMS and personal advisory fees from Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, Pfizer\/BMS, Abbott, Boston Scientific and Medtronic<\/span><\/p>\n

References:<\/b><\/p>\n

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                           <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                          The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) draft guidelines for the management of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) contain recommendations at odds with available scientific data and recently updated guidelines […]<\/p>\n

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