Are There Real Differences Among the New Anticoagulants?

An indirect comparison suggests few differences in secondary prevention of stroke, but such analyses are generally unreliable.

Anticoagulants are effective at reducing the rate of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Warfarin has been the main anticoagulant used in recent decades. Several recently developed agents have shown efficacy in preventing stroke in patients with AF. These include the direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran (110 mg [unavailable in the U.S.] or 150 mg) and the factor Xa inhibitors rivaroxaban and apixaban. Researchers have now performed an indirect comparison of these three agents based on randomized trials conducted thus far (JW Cardiol Aug 10 2011, JW Cardiol Sep 1 2009, and NEJM 2011; 365:981). Aiming to reduce heterogeneity in their analysis, the authors separately assessed data from patients without previous stroke or transien…

Reviewing Author

Seemant Chaturvedi, MD

Are There Real Differences Among the New Anticoagulants?

Topics

Reviewing Author