Abstract
The elderly population ( cut off 65 and over, for this audit) are being increasingly prescribed direct oral anticoagulants(DOAC) for prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation/ prevention and treatment of DVT/PE.This poses significant difficulties when stopping/ restarting these medications in the peri-operative period , due to the ever changing clinical circumstances in this period. Therefore , we performed an audit( in Glangwili Hospital, Jan-July 2024) , using the Welsh Frailty Fracture Network guidelines as our standard and found out(during the first cycle) that around 40 percent of patients did not have their DOAC restarted on time post surgery and that poor documentation regarding the circumstances causing delay was prevalent. We intervened by providing teaching , putting up posters and trying to include the guidelines in the trust intranet. In the second cycle, there was significant improvement in the documentation of the circumstance causing delay of restart and higher number of patients with DOACs stopped in correct time in keeping with their renal functions.