Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26058350›Full record

ArticleBMC cardiovascular disorders2015

General Practitioners' vitamin K antagonist monitoring is associated with better blood pressure control in patients with hypertension--a cross-sectional database study.

Sven Streit, Vladimir Kaplan, André Busato, Sima Djalali, Oliver Senn, Damian N Meli, FIRE Study Group

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC cardiovascular disorders, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Untreated and uncontrolled hypertension in Japanese patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Sven StreitInstitute of Primary Health Care BIHAM, University of Bern, Gesellschaftsstrasse 49, 3012, Bern, Switzerland. sven.streit@biham.unibe.ch.
Vladimir KaplanDistrict Hospital Freiamt Muri, Muri, Switzerland. vladimir.kaplan@spital-muri.ch.
André BusatoInstitute of General Practice, University of Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Sima DjalaliInstitute of General Practice, University of Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. sima.djalali@usz.ch.
Oliver SennInstitute of General Practice, University of Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. oliver.senn@usz.ch.
Damian N MeliInstitute of Primary Health Care BIHAM, University of Bern, Gesellschaftsstrasse 49, 3012, Bern, Switzerland. damian.meli@biham.unibe.ch.
FIRE Study Group
University Hospital of Zurich · CHUniversity of Bern · CHBern University of Applied Sciences · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients requiring anticoagulation suffer from comorbidities such as hypertension. On the occasion of INR monitoring, general practitioners (GPs) have the opportunity to control for blood pressure (BP). We aimed to evaluate the impact of Vitamin-K Antagonist (VKA) monitoring by GPs on BP control in patients with hypertension.

methodsWe cross-sectionally analyzed the database of the Swiss Family Medicine ICPC Research using Electronic Medical Records (FIRE) of 60 general practices in a primary care setting in Switzerland. This database includes 113,335 patients who visited their GP between 2009 and 2013. We identified patients with hypertension based on antihypertensive medication prescribed for ≥ 6 months. We compared patients with VKA for ≥ 3 months and patients without such treatment regarding BP control. We adjusted for age, sex, observation period, number of consultations and comorbidity.

resultsWe identified 4,412 patients with hypertension and blood pressure recordings in the FIRE database. Among these, 569 (12.9%) were on Phenprocoumon (VKA) and 3,843 (87.1%) had no anticoagulation. Mean systolic and diastolic BP was significantly lower in the VKA group (130.6 ± 14.9 vs 139.8 ± 15.8 and 76.6 ± 7.9 vs 81.3 ± 9.3 mm Hg) (p < 0.001 for both). The difference remained after adjusting for possible confounders. Systolic and diastolic BP were significantly lower in the VKA group, reaching a mean difference of -8.4 mm Hg (95% CI -9.8 to -7.0 mm Hg) and -1.5 mm Hg (95% CI -2.3 to -0.7 mm Hg), respectively (p < 0.001 for both).

conclusionsIn a large sample of hypertensive patients in Switzerland, VKA treatment was independently associated with better systolic and diastolic BP control. The observed effect could be due to better compliance with antihypertensive medication in patients treated with VKA. Therefore, we conclude to be aware of this possible benefit especially in patients with lower expected compliance and with multimorbidity.

Indexed as

Monitoring, PhysiologicPrimary Health CareAgedAnticoagulantsAntihypertensive AgentsCross-Sectional StudiesDatabases, FactualElectronic Health RecordsFemaleHumansHypertensionInternational Normalized RatioMaleMedication AdherenceRisk FactorsVitamin KAnticoagulantsAntihypertensive AgentsVitamin K

Identifiers

PMID26058350
PMCPMC4461926
OpenAlexW1777785065

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.