Premium
Addition of direct oral anticoagulants to the World Health Organization model list of essential medicines for the treatment of atrial fibrillation: An African perspective
Author(s) -
Noubiap Jean Jacques,
KamtchumTatuene Joseph
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
british journal of clinical pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.216
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1365-2125
pISSN - 0306-5251
DOI - 10.1111/bcp.15226
Subject(s) - medicine , atrial fibrillation , intensive care medicine , general partnership , stroke (engine) , adverse effect , business , pharmacology , finance , mechanical engineering , engineering
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major cause of adverse cardiovascular outcomes, and its prevalence is fast rising in Africa. The advent of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) has been a major revolution for the prevention of AF‐related stroke and systemic embolism given the significant advantage over vitamin K antagonists in terms of both efficacy, safety, and adherence. However, due to their high cost, equitable access to DOACs has been a challenge, especially in low‐ and middle‐income countries. Therefore, the recent addition of DOACs to the 21st WHO list of essential medicines comes as good news. African governments should take this opportunity to scale up the accessibility to DOACs for African patients with AF. This could be achieved through advocacy, appropriate training of health professionals, task shifting, patient education, strategic partnership to increase availability and quality of low‐cost generic drugs, and appropriate medico‐economic studies.