[Quality of treatment of atrial fibrillation patients and indicators utilized in monitoring--results of quality assessment at eleven healthcare centers]. / Eteisvärinäpotilaiden hoidon laatu ja seurannassa käytettävät indikaattorit.

BACKGROUND: Several studies indicate a great need for improvement in the care of atrial fibrillation (AF). Failures in antitrombotic treatment can result in stroke. MATERIAL: A sample of consecutive patients with AF was gathered from eleven health centers (1,156 patients). RESULTS: 57.5% of all warfarin-treated patients (N = 1 125) were in good balance of anticoagulation. Of patients who had INR (International Normalized Ratio) for a period of at least 90 days (N = 531), 75.3% were in good balance. Severe symptoms of AF were experienced by 5.0% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of AF has to be improved, especially in anticoagulation. Anticoagulation should simply be stopped or new anticoagulants should be used, if intensifying of warfarin treatment is not successful.