Background Anticoagulation is important in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients to reduce the occurrence of thrombotic events. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) as an alternative to systemic anticoagulation through an indirect comparative analysis.
Methods An indirect comparative analysis of nonvitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) and LAAO was conducted. Comparisons were made using data from four landmark randomized clinical trials (RE-LY, ROCKET-AF, ARISTOTLE, and PROTECT AF). Using warfarin as the common comparator, an indirect comparison was performed using data from each trial, and the relative risk was calculated between NOACs and LAAO.
Results NOACs and LAAO showed similar results for the reduction of stroke and systemic embolism, with a non-statistically significant trend favoring NOACs (hazard ratio [HR], 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37–1.46 for dabigatran; HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.50–1.92 for rivaroxaban; HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.45–1.74 for apixaban). Significantly fewer major bleeding and procedure-related complications were found in patients treated with apixaban compared with LAAO (HR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.26–0.75). Cardiovascular death occurred more frequently in patients administered NOACs than in patients with LAAO (HR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.03–5.10 for dabigatran; HR, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.09–5.42 for rivaroxaban; HR, 2.40; 95% CI, 1.10–5.36 for apixaban).
Conclusions The rate of all-cause death was similar between NOACs and LAAO. Compared with LAAO, NOACs led to a nonsignificant numerical decrease in stroke and embolism in AF patients. Significantly fewer safety events occurred in patients treated with apixaban. LAAO significantly reduced cardiovascular death.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia. In the Asian population, patients with AF have been shown to have increased risks of ischemic stroke and all-cause death compared to patients without AF by 3.34- and 2.61-fold, respectively. AF guidelines recommend oral anticoagulation (OAC) therapy in AF patients with a CHA2DS2-VASc score of ≥1 for men and ≥2 for women with non-valvular AF. After the introduction of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) as a treatment for AF, their use has become widespread. Compared to warfarin, NOACs showed comparable efficacy for the prevention of thromboembolic events and superior safety in terms of bleeding complications, especially intracranial hemorrhage. Physicians should keep in mind considerations for optimal OAC therapy to achieve the best outcome. Furthermore, appropriate dose selection in order to achieve the best clinical outcome is an important issue in clinical practice. All NOACs do not have the same rules for dose reduction, and dose reduction of NOACs is primarily recommended according to the dose reduction criteria investigated in pivotal randomized control trials. In this review, we focus on the optimal dose of NOAC and summarize current guidelines and evidence for appropriate dosing of NOACs.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is very common arrhythmic disorder especially in elderly population, and makes higher major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in the patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Pivotal drug for AF patients to reduce systemic embolism was warfarin, and certain duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is important after PCI with stent. But, best regimen of antithrombotic agent after PCI in AF is unclear especially in the clinical use of novel oral anticoagulant (NOAC). This manuscript will deal those clinical studies to indicate optimal regimen and duration of NOAC use for AF patients underwent PCI. NOAC use on DAPT significantly reduces major or minor bleeding compared to warfarin in AF patients with ACS or underwent PCI. But, the duration of NOAC use is still unclear, and there is exist clear contraindication to use it in clinical field. NOAC use reduced major or minor bleeding significantly compared to warfarin, but the incidence of MACEs was similar between warfarin and NOAC. Physician should understand the advantage or disadvantage of NOAC use, and be able to tailor the regimen and duration of antithrombotics including NOAC in this higher risk patient population.
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Welcome to the New JournalCardiovascular Prevention and Pharmacotherapy Mi-Jeong Kim, Jang-Whan Bae, Dae Ryong Kang Cardiovascular Prevention and Pharmacotherapy.2019; 1(1): 1. CrossRef