Edoxaban more beneficial than Warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation

According to a new study, Edoxaban may be more beneficial than Warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation.

It might be associated with reduced risk of ischemic stroke, major bleeding, and all-cause death compared with warfarin in people with atrial fibrillation. The findings of the study have appeared in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Edoxaban is an oral anticoagulant drug which acts as a direct factor Xa inhibitor. It was developed by Daiichi Sankyo and approved in July 2011 in Japan for the prevention of venous thromboembolism following lower-limb orthopaedic surgery.

So-Ryoung Lee and associates conducted a study to compare the effectiveness and safety of edoxaban with those of warfarin in a Korean population with AF. Edoxaban is an oral anticoagulant drug which acts as a direct factor Xa inhibitor.

The researchers included new users of edoxaban and warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation from January 2014 to December 2016 (n = 4,200 on edoxaban, and n = 31,565 on warfarin) and analyzed the risk of ischemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), hospitalization for gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, hospitalization for major bleeding, and all-cause mortality.

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Key study findings:

• Edoxaban users had a significantly lower risk of ischemic stroke, ICH, hospitalization for GI bleeding, hospitalization for major bleeding and all-cause death than warfarin users.


• All subgroups (age, sex, CHA2DS2-VASc score, renal function, edoxaban dose) showed better clinical outcomes with edoxaban than with warfarin.

The study concluded that the findings suggest a reduced risk of adverse outcomes in patients treated with edoxaban compared with warfarin, with consistent benefit across high-risk subgroups.

Atrial fibrillation is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that can increase your risk of stroke, heart failure, and other heart-related complications.

For reference log on to http://www.onlinejacc.org/content/72/8/838