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Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) and apixaban (Eliquis) are the most commonly prescribed direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in the U.S., but no head-to-head comparisons are available to guide physicians' choices between these drugs. In this study, researchers used a large U.S. claims database to compare the effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban and apixaban in patients with newly diagnosed venous thromboembolism (VTE). About 3000 apixaban users were compared with about 12,000 propensity-score-matched rivaroxaban users.
During average follow-up of about 3 months, recurrent VTE occurred significantly less often in apixaban users than in rivaroxaban users (3 vs. 7 events per 100 person-years). Major bleeding also occurred significantly less often…