Effectiveness Of Direct-acting Oral Anticoagulants Research Articles

Efficacy and Safety of Direct Oral Anticoagulants Versus Warfarin in Saudi Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) significantly heightens stroke risk, which can be mitigated through anticoagulation therapy. Although warfarin was traditionally employed for this purpose, the use of direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) is on the rise. This retrospective study, which spanned from June 2016 to January 2018, focused on adult patients diagnosed with AF. Their treatments, either via warfarin or DOACs (apixaban, rivaroxaban, and dabigatran), were evaluated. Data analysis was done using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS, version 21; IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY). This study aims to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of DOACs versus warfarin in preventing thromboembolic complications among Saudi patients with AF. A total of 396 patients with AF, averaging 66 ± 14 years of age, were part of the study. Among them, there were slightly more female patients (205 or 51.8%). The majority of patients (223 or 56.3%) were treated with a DOAC, while the rest (173 or 43.7%) received warfarin. Furthermore, 93 patients (23.5%) were taking anti-platelet drugs. Statistically, the rate of ischemic stroke was significantly higher among patients treated with DOACs than with warfarin (p=0.005), but bleeding rates were similar in both groups. Specifically, the DOACs apixaban and rivaroxaban showed a significant association with the occurrence of stroke when compared to warfarin (p=0.012 and p=007, respectively). Overall, both DOACs and warfarin presented similar results regarding hemorrhagic complications when treating AF patients. However, the DOACs apixaban and rivaroxaban displayed higher risks of ischemic stroke compared to warfarin.

A comparison of front-line oral anticoagulants for the treatment of non-valvular atrial fibrillation: effectiveness and safety of direct oral anticoagulants in the FANTASIIA registry

ABSTRACT Introduction For a long time, vitamin K antagonists (VKA) were the only oral anticoagulation therapy available to reduce adverse events in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients. Direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOAC) are at least as effective and safe as VKA with few drug interactions, rapid onset, and short half-life. Four DOACs, dabigatran, apixaban, rivaroxaban, and edoxaban, have demonstrated efficacy and safety for treatment in AF patients. Areas Covered The purpose of this review article is to analyze the current evidence in clinical trials and in real-world populations and performed a new analysis with the estimated effect of those DOACs over the VKA population from the FANTASIIA registry. Expert Opinion In the absence of randomized, controlled head-to-head comparisons between DOACs, high-quality observational data can provide useful information on the comparative effectiveness of DOACs. Current clinical guidelines recommend the management of oral anticoagulation in AF patients with DOACs over VKA for stroke prevention; however, many guidelines generally do not suggest a specific DOAC choice in clinical practice. The revised evidence in this manuscript and our real experience reflects that apixaban and dabigatran show the best efficacy and safety profile.

Effectiveness and Safety of Apixaban in over 3.9 Million People with Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: There is a plethora of real-world data on the safety and effectiveness of direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs); however, study heterogeneity has contributed to inconsistent findings. We compared the effectiveness and safety of apixaban with those of other direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and vitamin K antagonists (VKA e.g., warfarin). Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted retrieving data from PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science from January 2009 to December 2021. Studies that evaluated apixaban (intervention) prescribed for adults (aged 18 years or older) with AF for stroke prevention compared to other DOACs or VKAs were identified. Primary outcomes included stroke/systemic embolism (SE), all-cause mortality, and major bleeding. Secondary outcomes were intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) and ischaemic stroke. Randomised controlled trials and non-randomised trials were considered for inclusion. Results: In total, 67 studies were included, and 38 studies were meta-analysed. Participants taking apixaban had significantly lower stroke/SE compared to patients taking VKAs (relative risk (RR) 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.64–0.93, I2 = 94%) and dabigatran (RR 0.84, 95% CI 0.74–0.95, I2 = 66%), but not to patients administered rivaroxaban. There was no statistical difference in mortality between apixaban and VKAs or apixaban and dabigatran. Compared to patients administered rivaroxaban, participants taking apixaban had lower mortality rates (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.71–0.96, I2 = 96%). Apixaban was associated with a significantly lower risk of major bleeding compared to VKAs (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.52–0.65, I2 = 90%), dabigatran (RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.70–0.88, I2 = 78%) and rivaroxaban (RR 0.61, 95% CI 0.53–0.70, I2 = 87%). Conclusions: Apixaban was associated with a better overall safety and effectiveness profile compared to VKAs and other DOACs.

Patient Characteristics and Temporal Changes in Anticoagulation Treatment Patterns in Patients Diagnosed with Cancer-Associated Thrombosis: An Oscar-US Analysis

Background: Although guidelines include direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) as an alternative to low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) for treatment of cancer associated venous thrombosis (CAT), specific recommendations for selection of patients for DOAC treatment vary. Recommendations for use of DOACs are driven predominantly by perceptions of risk: benefit ratio (often associated with different cancer subtypes). We sought to assess patient characteristics and temporal changes in DOAC (vs. LMWH) utilization in patients being treated in routine practice for CAT.Methods: This analysis is part of the Observational Studies in Cancer Associated Thrombosis for Rivaroxaban - United States (OSCAR-US) program. OSCAR-US is an ongoing study utilizing longitudinal patient-level medical record data from Optum for 91+ million patients seen at 700+ hospitals and 7,000+ clinics across the US. To be included in the present study, adult patients had to be diagnosed with active (primary or metastatic) cancer, undergone hospitalization, emergency department or observation unit admission associated with a primary International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9th or -10 th revision diagnosis code for venous thromboembolism (VTE) between January 2013 and September 2020, received a DOAC or LMWH on day 7 of CAT treatment, and been active in the data set for at least 12 months prior to the CAT. Cohort assignment was based upon anticoagulant received on day 7 to increase the study's likelihood of appropriately classifying patients into their intended long-term treatment group. We defined active cancer as any cancer associated with ongoing treatment with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation, or recent surgery; the presence of metastatic disease (regardless of time from initial cancer diagnosis); or provider encounter with a primary diagnosis code for cancer within the 6 months prior to the CAT. We excluded patients with an alternative indication for anticoagulation use or evidence of anticoagulation during the 12 months prior (per written prescription or patient self-report). For this analysis, year of CAT diagnosis was grouped into three mutually exclusive categories (2013-2015, 2016-2018, and 2019-2020) to represent early DOAC availability for VTE, peri-DOAC CAT trials and post-CAT guideline recommendation periods. Categorical data were reported as percentages, while continuous data were reported as means ± standard deviations (SDs). Chi-square and independent sample t-tests were used to test for differences in characteristics and treatment patterns between cohorts.Results: In total, 95,072 adult patients experiencing a VTE-related hospitalization, emergency department or observation unit visit were identified. Of these, 14,377 (15.1%) met our pre-specified criteria for active cancer; including 84.7% who received a cancer treatment modality within 6-months and/or had metastatic disease (Table). Though a majority (76.0%) of patients received parenteral therapy as their first anticoagulant upon CAT diagnosis; on day 7 of CAT management, 5325 (52.0%) were receiving a DOAC and 4925 (48.0%) a LMWH. Mean age of patients was 65.2±13.7 years, body mass index (BMI) was 29.9±7.7 kg/m2 and 55.9% were women. Pulmonary embolism (PE)±deep vein thrombosis (DVT) was present in 47.2% of patients and more frequent in patients treated with LMWH than a DOAC on day 7 (p<0.001). The most common cancer types were lung (18.3%) genitourinary (13.5%), breast (12.7%) and colorectal (10.5%) (Figure). The proportion of patients treated with a DOAC increased substantially for all cancers over the three time periods evaluated (27.5% to 55.9% to 73.2%, p<0.001). This temporal relationship of increasing DOAC use (vs. LMWH) remained consistent across individual cancer subtypes (p<0.001 for all). Mean anticoagulant treatment duration was 193±143 days for the entire cohort and was longer in patients treated with DOACs vs. LMWHs (226±138 vs. 147±138 days, p<0.001).Conclusions: In this US population, DOACs were increasingly being utilized for the management of CAT patients and for longer treatment durations than LMWHs. The finding of increasing frequency in use of DOACs vs. LMWHs appeared consistent across all major cancer subtypes. Given their common use, future analyses should evaluate the real-world effectiveness and safety of DOACs compared to LMWHs within individual cancer subtypes. [Display omitted] DisclosuresColeman: Bayer AG: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen Scientific Affairs LLC: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Alexion Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding. Abdelgawwad: Bayer AG: Current Employment. Psaroudakis: Bayer AG: Current Employment. Fatoba: Bayer AG: Current Employment. Rivera: Bayer AG: Current Employment. Brobert: Bayer AG: Current Employment.

Effectiveness and safety of direct-acting oral anticoagulants compared to vitamin K antagonists in patients with left ventricular thrombus: A meta-analysis

BackgroundLeft ventricular thrombus (LVT) is a complication of multiple cardiovascular diseases. There has been an increasing trend of off-label using direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for the treatment of patients with LVT. The effectiveness and safety of DOACs remain to be determined. MethodWe searched for publications (PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov) comparing DOACs with Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in patients with LVT. We estimated odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for stroke, systemic embolism, major bleeding events, and thrombus resolution as the effectiveness and safety outcomes. The subgroup analysis and meta-regression were also performed. ResultsNine retrospective observational studies with a total of 2028 participants were included.DOACs demonstrated a similar risk of stroke, systemic embolism, major bleeding events, and thrombus resolution (OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.50–1.23; OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.65–2.26; OR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.47–1.42; OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 0.62–2.90, respectively). ConclusionsThere is no difference between DOACs and VKAs in patients with LVT from the perspectives of stroke, systemic embolism, major bleeding events, and thrombus resolution. Prospective randomized controlled trials with adequate sample sizes are urgently needed to confirm findings.

DOACs for U.S. Nursing Home Residents with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation

Randomized trials have demonstrated equivalence or superiority in safety and effectiveness of direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) compared with

Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Direct-acting Oral Anticoagulants and Warfarin in Patients with Venous Thromboembolism and Active Cancer: An Observational Analysis

PurposeThere is limited evidence to support the use of direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) and active cancer. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of DOACs versus warfarin for the prevention of recurrent VTE and major bleeding events in patients with VTE and active cancer. MethodsWe identified patients with incident VTE and active cancer who newly initiated treatment with DOACs or warfarin from Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Claims and Medicare supplemental databases. Patients were followed up from treatment initiation (index date) until the occurrence of >7-day gap in treatment, the start of the study comparator, an outcome of interest (recurrent VTE or major bleeding), inpatient death, disenrollment, or end of the study period, whichever occurred first. We controlled for confounders via propensity score matching and estimated the hazard ratios (HRs) using Cox proportional hazards regression models. FindingsA total of 9952 patients were included in the matched cohort (4976 DOACs users and 4976 warfarin users). Patient characteristics were well balanced after matching. We observed a lower incidence of recurrent VTE (3 vs 5 per 100 person-years) and major bleeding events (2 vs 3 per 100 person-years) in the DOAC group compared to warfarin group, respectively. In Cox regression models, use of DOACs (vs warfarin) was associated with a lower risk of recurrent VTE (hazard ratio (HR), 0.59; 95% CI, 0.42–0.82) and major bleeding events (HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.44–0.94). ImplicationsOn the basis of our findings, among patients with VTE and active cancer, DOACs offer superior effectiveness with a lower risk of bleeding when compared with warfarin for the secondary prevention of VTE.

Comparative Safety and Effectiveness of Direct-Acting Oral Anticoagulants Versus Warfarin: a National Cohort Study of Nursing Home Residents.

Research comparing direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) to warfarin has excluded nursing home residents, a vulnerable and high-risk population. To compare the safety and effectiveness of DOACs versus warfarin. New-user cohort study (2011-2016). US nursing home residents aged > 65years with non-valvular atrial fibrillation enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare for > 6months. Initiators of DOACs (2881 apixaban, 1289 dabigatran, 3735 rivaroxaban) were 1:1 propensity matched to warfarin initiators. Outcomes included ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (i.e., ischemic cerebrovascular event), bleeding (extracranial or intracranial), other vascular events, death, and a composite of all outcomes. Absolute rate differences (RD) and cause-specific hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. Subgroup analyses were performed by alignment of DOAC dosing with labeling. Median age (84years), CHA2DS2-Vasc (5), and ATRIA risk scores (3) were similar across medications. Clinical outcome rates were similar for dabigatran and rivaroxaban users versus warfarin users. However, ischemic cerebrovascular event rates were higher among dabigatran and rivaroxaban users that received reduced dosages without an indication. Overall, apixaban users had higher ischemic cerebrovascular event rates (HR 1.86; 95% CI 1.00-3.45) and lower bleeding rates (HR 0.66; 95% CI 0.49-0.88), but outcome rates varied by dosing alignment. Mortality rates (per 100person-years) were lower for apixaban (RDs - 9.30; 95% CI - 13.18 to - 5.42), dabigatran (RDs - 10.79; 95% CI - 14.98 to - 6.60), and rivaroxaban (RDs - 8.92; 95% CI - 12.01 to - 5.83) versus warfarin; composite outcome findings were similar. Among US nursing home residents, the DOACs were each associated with lower mortality versus warfarin. Misaligned DOAC dosing was common in nursing homes and was associated with clinical and mortality outcomes. Overall, DOAC users had lower rates of adverse outcomes including mortality compared with warfarin users.

Evaluation of the Safety and Effectiveness of Direct-Acting Oral Anticoagulants in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and Coexisting Valvular Heart Disease.

Current guidelines recommend direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) over warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and valvular heart disease (VHD) without a mechanical valve or moderate to severe mitral stenosis. However, real-world data to support the safety and efficacy of DOACs in this patient population are lacking. Our objective was to assess the safety and effectiveness of DOACs in patients with AF and VHD. This retrospective chart review evaluated patients aged ≥ 18years with a diagnosis of AF and at least moderate VHD on echocardiogram. Patients were included if they received ≥ 1month of DOAC therapy from December 2016 to December 2018. Patients were excluded if they received dual antiplatelet therapy or had additional indications for anticoagulation. The primary outcomes were incidence of stroke or systemic embolism (SSE) and major bleeding. In total, 200 patients were included (disease type: aortic, n = 50; mitral, n = 50; tricuspid, n = 50; multivalve, n = 50). Most patients received apixaban (n = 133 [66.5%]) followed by rivaroxaban (n = 50 [25%]) and dabigatran (n = 17 [8.5%]). No patients received edoxaban. The mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 4.25 and was similar among DOAC cohorts (p = 0.380). The overall SSE rate was 3.5% and was highest for dabigatran (n = 3 [17.6%]) compared with the other DOACs (apixaban, n = 1 [0.8%]; rivaroxaban, n = 3 [6%]; p = 0.001). Rates were similar among different valve types (aortic, n = 3 [6%]; mitral, n = 1 [2%]; tricuspid, n = 2 [4%]; multivalve, n = 1 [2%]; p = 0.653). The overall rate of major bleeding was 5.5% and did not differ among the DOACs (apixaban, n = 5 [3.8%]; rivaroxaban, n = 4 [8%]; dabigatran, n = 2 [11.8%]; p = 0.264) or valve type (aortic, n = 3 [6%]; mitral, n = 2 [4%]; tricuspid, n = 2 [4%]; multivalve, n = 4 [8%]; p = 0.787). In patients with AF and VHD, rates of major bleeding were similar among the DOACs and valve types; however, more patients receiving dabigatran experienced SSE. Further studies are needed to validate these findings.

Comparative effectiveness and safety of oral anticoagulants for atrial fibrillation in real-world practice: a population-based cohort study protocol

IntroductionAnticoagulants are arguably the most important drug family of all, based on the frequency and duration of their use, and the clinical importance and frequency of benefits and harms. Several...