PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a multinational, multicentre, non-interventional study involving 49 sites across 5 countries in South East Asia and South Korea where 934 patients newly diagnosed with NVAF were initiated on either dabigatran (N=591) or VKA (N=343). Data were collected at baseline and over two follow-up visits across 6 months. Treatment satisfaction and patient convenience were evaluated using the Perception on Anticoagulant Treatment Questionnaire-2 (PACT-Q2).
RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 65.9±10.4 years, and 64.2% were male. Mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 2.4±1.5, and mean HAS-BLED score was 1.2±0.9. At baseline, patients initiated on dabigatran had higher stroke risk, bleeding risk, creatinine clearance and proportion of patients with concomitant illnesses compared with patients initiated on VKAs. Treatment convenience was perceived to be significantly better with dabigatran versus VKAs at visits 2 and 3 (p=0.0423 and 0.0287, respectively). Treatment satisfaction was significantly better with dabigatran compared with VKAs at visit 3 (p=0.0300).
CONCLUSION: In this study, dabigatran is associated with better patient perception in terms of treatment convenience and satisfaction compared with VKAs when used for stroke prevention in newly diagnosed NVAF patients from South East Asia and South Korea.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02849509.
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Patient satisfaction with dabigatran versus VKAs in South East Asia. Patients with atrial fibrillation are at high risk of stroke and require anticoagulants for stroke prevention. Two such anticoagulants are dabigatran and VKAs. We wanted to compare the extent of satisfaction and treatment convenience among newly diagnosed patients with atrial fibrillation from the South East Asian region when they were given either dabigatran or VKAs. Consenting patients filled out a standardised questionnaire called the PACT-Q2 over three visits after they were started on either dabigatran (591 patients) or VKAs (343 patients). We found that satisfaction and convenience were significantly higher when patients received dabigatran than when they received VKAs.
Methods and results: Data were pooled from two prospective, real-world Watchman LAAC registries running in parallel in Europe/Middle-East/Russia (EWOLUTION) and Asia/Australia (WASP) between 2013 and 2015. Of the 1140 patients, 139 subjects at 10 centres underwent a concomitant AF ablation and LAAC procedure. The mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 3.4 ± 1.4 and HAS-BLED score 1.5 ± 0.9. Successful Watchman implantation was achieved in 100% of patients. The overall 30-day serious adverse event (SAE) rate was 8.7%, with the device and/or procedure-related SAE rate of 1.4%. One pericardial effusion required percutaneous drainage, but there were no strokes, device embolization, or deaths at 30 days. The 30-day bleeding SAE rate was 2.9% with 55% of patients prescribed NOAC and 38% taking warfarin post-procedure.
Conclusion: The outcomes from these international, multicentre registries support the feasibility and safety of performing combined procedures of ablation and Watchman LAAC for patients with non-valvular AF and high stroke risk. Further data are needed on long-term outcomes for the hybrid technique on all-cause stroke and mortality.
METHODS: We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of primary antibiotic resistance to H pylori and the efficacy of first-line regimens in the Asia-Pacific region. We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for articles published between Jan 1, 1990, and Sept 30, 2016; we also searched abstracts from international conferences. Both observational studies and randomised controlled trials were eligible for inclusion in the analysis of primary antibiotic resistance, but only randomised controlled trials were eligible for inclusion in the analysis of efficacy of first-line therapies. Meta-analysis was by the random-effects model to account for the substantial variations in resistance across the region. We did subgroup analyses by country and study period (ie, before 2000, 2001-05, 2006-10, and 2011-15) to establish country-specific prevalences of primary antibiotic resistance and first-line eradication rates. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42017057905.
FINDINGS: 176 articles from 24 countries were included in our analysis of antibiotic resistance. The overall mean prevalences of primary H pylori resistance were 17% (95% CI 15-18) for clarithromycin, 44% (95% CI 39-48) for metronidazole, 18% (95% CI 15-22) for levofloxacin, 3% (95% CI 2-5) for amoxicillin, and 4% (95% CI 2-5) for tetracycline. Prevalence of resistance to clarithromycin and levofloxacin rose significantly over time during the period investigated, whereas resistance to other antibiotics remained stable. 170 articles from 16 countries were included in analysis of efficacy of first-line therapies. We noted unsatisfactory efficacy (ie, <80%) with clarithromycin-containing regimens in countries where the clarithromycin resistance rates were higher than 20%.
INTERPRETATION: The prevalence of primary antibiotic resistance varied greatly among countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and thus treatment strategy should be adapted relative to country-specific resistance patterns. Clarithromycin-containing regimens should be avoided in countries where the prevalence of clarithromycin resistance is higher than 20%.
FUNDING: Ministry of Health and Welfare of Taiwan, Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan, and Amity University.
AIM: To study factors associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and advanced fibrosis, and medical treatment of biopsy-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients.
METHODS: Retrospective study of biopsy-proven NAFLD patients from centres in the GO ASIA Workgroup. Independent factors associated with NASH and with advanced fibrosis on binary logistic regression analyses in a training cohort were used for the development of their corresponding risk score, which were validated in a validation cohort.
RESULTS: We included 1008 patients from nine centres across eight countries (NASH 62.9%, advanced fibrosis 17.2%). Independent predictors of NASH were body mass index ≥30 kg/m2 , diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia, alanine aminotransferase ≥88 U/L and aspartate aminotransferase ≥38 U/L, constituting the Asia Pacific NASH risk score. A high score has a positive predictive value of 80%-83% for NASH. Independent predictors of advanced fibrosis were age ≥55 years, diabetes mellitus and platelet count <150 × 109 /L, constituting the Asia-Pacific NAFLD advanced fibrosis risk score. A low score has a negative predictive value of 95%-96% for advanced fibrosis. Only 1.7% of patients were referred for structured lifestyle program, 4.2% were on vitamin E, and 2.4% were on pioglitazone.
CONCLUSIONS: More severe liver disease can be suspected or ruled out based on factors identified in this study. Utilisation of structured lifestyle program, vitamin E and pioglitazone was limited despite this being a cohort of biopsy-proven NAFLD patients with majority of patients having NASH.
METHODS: PLHIV from a regional observational cohort without DM prior to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation were included in the analysis. DM was defined as having a fasting blood glucose ≥126 mg/dL, glycated haemoglobin ≥6.5%, a two-hour plasma glucose ≥200 mg/dL, or a random plasma glucose ≥200 mg/dL. A Cox regression model, stratified by site, was used to identify risk factors associated with DM.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Of the 1927 participants included, 127 were diagnosed with DM after ART initiation. Median follow-up time from ART initiation to DM diagnosis was 5.9 years (interquartile range (IQR): 2.8 to 8.9 years). The crude incidence rate of DM was 1.08 per 100 person-years (100 PYS), 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.9 to 1.3). In the multivariate analysis, later years of follow-up (2011 to 2013: HR = 2.34, 95% CI 1.14 to 4.79, p = 0.02; and 2014 to 2017: HR = 7.20, 95% CI 3.27 to 15.87, p 50 years: HR = 4.19, 95% CI 2.12 to 8.28, p 30 kg/m2 (HR = 4.3, 95% CI 1.53 to 12.09, p = 0.006) compared to BMI <18.5 kg/m2 , and high blood pressure (HR = 2.05, 95% CI 1.16 to 3.63, p = 0.013) compared to those without high blood pressure, were associated with developing DM. The hazard was reduced for females (HR = 0.47, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.80, p = 0.006).
CONCLUSIONS: Type 2 DM in HIV-infected Asians was associated with later years of follow-up, high blood pressure, obesity and older age. This highlights the importance of monitoring and routine screening for non-communicable diseases including DM as PLHIV age.
METHODS: Patients from the TREAT Asia HIV Observational Database (TAHOD) and Australian HIV Observational Database (AHOD) receiving cART between 1999 and 2017 were included. Causes of death verification were based on review of the standardized Cause of Death (CoDe) form designed by the D:A:D group. Cohorts were grouped as AHOD (all high-income sites), TAHOD-high (high/upper-middle income countries) and TAHOD-low (lower-middle income countries). TAHOD sites were split into high/upper-middle income and lower-middle income country settings based on World Bank classifications. Competing risk regression was used to analyse factors associated with AIDS and non-AIDS-related mortality.
RESULTS: Of 10,386 patients, 522 died; 187 from AIDS-related and 335 from non-AIDS-related causes. The overall incidence rate of deaths during follow-up was 0.28 per 100 person-years (/100 PYS) for AIDS and 0.51/100 PYS for non-AIDS. Analysis indicated that the incidence rate of non-AIDS mortality decreased from 0.78/100 PYS to 0.37/100 PYS from year groups 2003 to 2007 to 2013 to 2017 (p Asia-Pacific region. There is a greater risk for non-AIDS-associated deaths in the AHOD cohort compared to lower-middle income settings in TAHOD.