Clinical utility of dabigatran in United Arab Emirates: A pharmacovigilance study

Authors

• Abdulla Shehab, From the Departments of Internal Medicine (Shehab), Pharmacology (Elnour), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, the Pharmaceutical Institute (Elnour, Sadik, Abu Mandil), Internal Medicine Department (Al Suwaidi), Al-Ain Hospital, the Internal Medicine Department (AlShamsi, Al Nuaimi), Tawam Hospital, Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA), Al-Ain, and the Department of Pharmaceutics (Hamad), Ajman University of Sciences and Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates, and the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Bhagavathula), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia, and the Department of Toxicology (Erkekoglu), Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey
• Asim A. Elnour, From the Departments of Internal Medicine (Shehab), Pharmacology (Elnour), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, the Pharmaceutical Institute (Elnour, Sadik, Abu Mandil), Internal Medicine Department (Al Suwaidi), Al-Ain Hospital, the Internal Medicine Department (AlShamsi, Al Nuaimi), Tawam Hospital, Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA), Al-Ain, and the Department of Pharmaceutics (Hamad), Ajman University of Sciences and Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates, and the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Bhagavathula), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia, and the Department of Toxicology (Erkekoglu), Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey
• Adel Sadik, From the Departments of Internal Medicine (Shehab), Pharmacology (Elnour), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, the Pharmaceutical Institute (Elnour, Sadik, Abu Mandil), Internal Medicine Department (Al Suwaidi), Al-Ain Hospital, the Internal Medicine Department (AlShamsi, Al Nuaimi), Tawam Hospital, Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA), Al-Ain, and the Department of Pharmaceutics (Hamad), Ajman University of Sciences and Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates, and the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Bhagavathula), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia, and the Department of Toxicology (Erkekoglu), Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey
• Mahmoud Abu Mandil, From the Departments of Internal Medicine (Shehab), Pharmacology (Elnour), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, the Pharmaceutical Institute (Elnour, Sadik, Abu Mandil), Internal Medicine Department (Al Suwaidi), Al-Ain Hospital, the Internal Medicine Department (AlShamsi, Al Nuaimi), Tawam Hospital, Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA), Al-Ain, and the Department of Pharmaceutics (Hamad), Ajman University of Sciences and Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates, and the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Bhagavathula), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia, and the Department of Toxicology (Erkekoglu), Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey
• Ali AlShamsi, From the Departments of Internal Medicine (Shehab), Pharmacology (Elnour), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, the Pharmaceutical Institute (Elnour, Sadik, Abu Mandil), Internal Medicine Department (Al Suwaidi), Al-Ain Hospital, the Internal Medicine Department (AlShamsi, Al Nuaimi), Tawam Hospital, Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA), Al-Ain, and the Department of Pharmaceutics (Hamad), Ajman University of Sciences and Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates, and the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Bhagavathula), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia, and the Department of Toxicology (Erkekoglu), Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey
• Aesha Al Suwaidi, From the Departments of Internal Medicine (Shehab), Pharmacology (Elnour), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, the Pharmaceutical Institute (Elnour, Sadik, Abu Mandil), Internal Medicine Department (Al Suwaidi), Al-Ain Hospital, the Internal Medicine Department (AlShamsi, Al Nuaimi), Tawam Hospital, Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA), Al-Ain, and the Department of Pharmaceutics (Hamad), Ajman University of Sciences and Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates, and the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Bhagavathula), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia, and the Department of Toxicology (Erkekoglu), Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey
• AkshayaSrikanth Bhagavathula, From the Departments of Internal Medicine (Shehab), Pharmacology (Elnour), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, the Pharmaceutical Institute (Elnour, Sadik, Abu Mandil), Internal Medicine Department (Al Suwaidi), Al-Ain Hospital, the Internal Medicine Department (AlShamsi, Al Nuaimi), Tawam Hospital, Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA), Al-Ain, and the Department of Pharmaceutics (Hamad), Ajman University of Sciences and Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates, and the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Bhagavathula), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia, and the Department of Toxicology (Erkekoglu), Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey
• Pinar Erkekoglu, From the Departments of Internal Medicine (Shehab), Pharmacology (Elnour), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, the Pharmaceutical Institute (Elnour, Sadik, Abu Mandil), Internal Medicine Department (Al Suwaidi), Al-Ain Hospital, the Internal Medicine Department (AlShamsi, Al Nuaimi), Tawam Hospital, Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA), Al-Ain, and the Department of Pharmaceutics (Hamad), Ajman University of Sciences and Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates, and the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Bhagavathula), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia, and the Department of Toxicology (Erkekoglu), Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey
• Farah Hamad, From the Departments of Internal Medicine (Shehab), Pharmacology (Elnour), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, the Pharmaceutical Institute (Elnour, Sadik, Abu Mandil), Internal Medicine Department (Al Suwaidi), Al-Ain Hospital, the Internal Medicine Department (AlShamsi, Al Nuaimi), Tawam Hospital, Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA), Al-Ain, and the Department of Pharmaceutics (Hamad), Ajman University of Sciences and Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates, and the Department of Clinical Pharmacy (Bhagavathula), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia, and the Department of Toxicology (Erkekoglu), Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

Objectives: To provide early data regarding clinical utility of dabigatran in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: This was an ethics approved retrospective cross sectional study. We retrieved a total of 76 patients who were using dabigatran from September to December 2014 in the Cardiology Clinic at Al-Ain Hospital, Al-Ain, UAE. The primary analysis was designed to test the frequency of bleeding events (rate) with dabigatran 75, 110, and 150 mg. Results: The mean age ± standard deviation of cohort was 67.9 ± 1.5 years (range; 29-98 years), composed of males (52.6%) with mean age of 66.3 ± 1.7 years, and females (47.4%) with mean age of 69.6 ± 1.1 years. The highest age group was those between 61-80 years (60.5%). Most comprised the age strata of ≤75 years (73.7%). The main indication for dabigatran use was atrial fibrillation. The rate of bleeding with dabigatran was 18/76 (23.7%), and melena was the leading cause of bleeding 8/76 (10.7%). The hospitalization rate was 67.1%, dabigatran withdrawal rate was 0.01%, and mortality rate was 6.5%. The cohort had exhibited incidences of minor bleeding with one fatal major bleeding, high co-morbidities, admission, and readmission, which was not directly linked to dabigatran. We did not identify any relation of death due to dabigatran. Conclusion: Dabigatran is a suitable alternative to warfarin obviating the need for repetitive international normalized ratio monitoring, however, it may need plasma drug monitoring.

Article Type

Research Article

First Page

1290

Last Page

1298

Recommended Citation

Shehab, Abdulla; Elnour, Asim A.; Sadik, Adel; Mandil, Mahmoud Abu; AlShamsi, Ali; Suwaidi, Aesha Al; Bhagavathula, AkshayaSrikanth; Erkekoglu, Pinar; and Hamad, Farah (2015) "Clinical utility of dabigatran in United Arab Emirates: A pharmacovigilance study," Saudi Medical Journal: Vol. 36: Iss. 11, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2015.11.12154