Direct Oral Anticoagulants or Warfarin for A-fib?
A recent study evaluated the effectiveness of three direct oral anticoagulants and warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation. Which agents came out on top?
WHAT’S NEW
No agent “has it all,” but DOACs have advantages
This comparative effectiveness and safety analysis reveals that all of the DOACs are at least as effective as warfarin in preventing ischemic stroke and systemic emboli, that rivaroxaban may be more effective, and that apixaban and dabigatran have a lower risk for bleeding than warfarin.
CAVEATS
Lacking INR data
This study was a nonrandomized cohort trial. And, while propensity weighting helps, the researchers were unable to completely control for underlying risk factors or unknown confounders.
INR data for patients on warfarin were not provided, so it is not clear how often patients were out of therapeutic range, which could affect the stroke and bleeding results in the warfarin group. This, however, is seen with routine use of warfarin. This study reflects the challenge of maintaining patients in warfarin’s narrow therapeutic range.
CHALLENGES TO IMPLEMENTATION
It comes down to cost
Cost could be a barrier, as health insurance coverage for DOACs varies. Patients with high-deductible health insurance plans, or who find themselves in the Medicare “donut hole,” may be at a particular disadvantage.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The PURLs Surveillance System was supported in part by Grant Number UL1RR024999 from the National Center For Research Resources, a Clinical Translational Science Award to the University of Chicago. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Center For Research Resources or the National Institutes of Health.
Copyright © 2017. The Family Physicians Inquiries Network. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission from the Family Physicians Inquiries Network and The Journal of Family Practice (2017;66[8]:518-519).
