ANTICOAGULANT TREATMENT IN PRIMARY HEALTH-CARE IN FINLAND

Objective - To establish the prevalence of anticoagulant (AC) treatmen t, the indications, and the quality of care in primary health care. De sign - A cross-sectional study, in which patients on AC treatment were identified from laboratory records. The main and second indications f or AC treatment and the last value of the AC-test were taken from medi cal records. Setting - Eight Finnish health centres with a total popul ation of 182 091 inhabitants. Results - A total of 1255 patients on AC treatment were identified, 48% of them men. The mean age was 68.9 yea rs. The age-adjusted prevalence of AC treatment was 0.65%. The commone st main indication was atrial fibrillation (38%). It was the main or s econd indication in 591 patients (age-adjusted prevalence 0.30%). The next commonest main indication was deep vein thrombosis (15%), followe d by pulmonary embolism (8%). A total of 274 (22%) patients were antic oagulated for cerebral circulatory disturbances. 86% of the latest pro thrombin time values fell within recommended ranges. Conclusion - The prevalence of AC treatment in Finland seems to be high. The proportion of patients with atrial fibrillation is high, differing from the resu lts in other countries. The monitoring of AC-treatment as the general practioner's responsibility functions well. The quality of care is goo d, even in older age groups.