MAQI2 Works To Decrease Bleeding Risk In Patients On Warfarin And Aspirin After PCI And TAVR

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A bottle of aspirin has tipped over on a table and a handful of pills has spilled out.

The Michigan Anticoagulation Quality Improvement Initiative (MAQI2) found that patients taking warfarin in combination with aspirin had twice the rate of bleeding with no clear clinical benefit, similar to other published literature. Over one-third of patients taking this combination did not have a clear reason to be taking aspirin. For patients already on lifelong warfarin treatment, guidelines recommend against adding aspirin therapy following TAVR in the absence of a recent PCI.  By developing systems to identify patients on inappropriate aspirin and coordinating with providers, sites have reduced inappropriate aspirin use by 50% in participating clinics since 2018, resulting in fewer bleeding events.

Panel A - MAQI2 inappropriate aspirin was reduced from 35% to 16% from 2017 to 2023  Panel B - MAQI2 reduced serious bleeding events from 2017 to 2022

MAQI2 is a collaborative of anticoagulation clinics across the State of Michigan seeking to improve the safety, quality of care and outcomes of patients requiring anticoagulation. Its initiative uses data to identify cases of possible inappropriate aspirin prescription, followed by direct contact with the prescriber, who then makes the final clinical decision about whether to continue aspirin.

MAQI2 began its work in 2018, targeting patients with no history of coronary artery disease. It expanded its reach to patients >12 months post-PCI and will continue to broaden its population in 2024 and 2025 by focusing on valve patients.