“We followed patients for over two years on average and were able to compare apixaban to rivaroxaban, something that has not yet been done in a randomized clinical trial. While the findings should be confirmed with randomized studies, they may have implications for providers as they select anticoagulants for their patients.”

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Through their analysis, researchers found that if 100 patients were followed over 1 year, rivaroxaban resulted in nearly 40 bleeding events compared to around 25 for warfarin. Bleeding events were similar between apixaban and warfarin, but the latter medication was associated with more major bleeds.

The rate of blood clots was higher with apixaban compared to warfarin, but researchers say it seemed largely driven by other thrombotic events, which included events like heart attacks.

Of the three medications, apixaban was associated with a lower mortality rate than rivaroxaban and warfarin.

“These three medications are the most commonly prescribed anticoagulants for thrombosis and atrial fibrillation, and it is important that we continue to investigate the possible effects they carry as we attempt to best serve our patients,” said Geoffrey Barnes, M.D., M.Sc., senior author and associate professor of cardiology-internal medicine at U-M Medical School.

Reference :

1. A Comparison of Bleeding Events Among Patients on Apixaban, Rivaroxaban, and Warfarin for Atrial Fibrillation and/or Venous Thromboembolism – (https://ash.confex.com/ash/2023/webprogram/Paper184457.html)

Source: Eurekalert