Multidisciplinary team for antithrombotics management and clinical outcomes in older adults with atrial fibrillation: a target trial emulation.

BACKGROUND

Recent international guidelines emphasize a multidisciplinary, patient-centered approach to managing atrial fibrillation (AF), particularly regarding antithrombotic (antiplatelet and anticoagulant) management. These guidelines advocate establishing multidisciplinary AF teams, but the clinical benefits of this approach for high-risk, clinically complex subgroups-particularly among very old and frail patients-remain uncertain. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of a hospital multidisciplinary team meeting dedicated to antithrombotics management on a composite measure of all-cause death, major thromboembolic events, or major or clinically relevant bleeding within 6 months in older adults with AF.

METHODS

A prospective multicenter cohort study was conducted in five acute geriatric departments in the Paris area between May 2021 and January 2024. Using a target trial emulation approach (cloning, censoring, weighting strategies), outcomes were analyzed in patients aged ≥ 75 years with AF or atrial flutter, followed in the geriatric departments (via outpatient consultation or hospitalization; > 98% were hospitalized). Participants were followed for 6 months or until death. The primary exposure was a hospital multidisciplinary team meeting within 45 days of inclusion, involving geriatricians, cardiologists, neurovascular specialists, and hemostasis experts. Cumulative incidences were estimated using the reverse Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS

The study included 818 patients, 138 (16.9%) in the hospital multidisciplinary-team meeting arm (median age 89 (Q1Q3 84-93), 57% female). The 6-month cumulative incidence of the primary composite outcome was 35.3% (95% CI, 29.6 to 41.8) in the multidisciplinary-team meeting arm and 36.2% (95% CI, 32.2 to 40.1) in the control arm (risk difference - 0.9 (95% CI, - 7.5 to 6.0); p = .79). The 2 arms did not differ in individual events within the composite measure.

CONCLUSIONS

A hospital multidisciplinary team meeting dedicated to antithrombotics management in older adults with AF was not associated with a reduction in all-cause death, major thromboembolic events, or major or clinically relevant bleeding within 6 months. These findings should be interpreted with caution due to the observational design and potential for residual confounding.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT04932603.