Off-Label Under- and Overdosing of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Meta-Analysis

Author(s):  
Xin-Lin Zhang ◽  
Xiao-Wen Zhang ◽  
Ting-Yu Wang ◽  
Hong-Wei Wang ◽  
Zheng Chen ◽  
...  

Background: Prescriptions of off-label under- and overdosing of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are common for patients with atrial fibrillation, but their efficacy and safety remain unknown. Methods: Databases were searched for randomized controlled trial or adjusted observational study that compared an off-label versus on-label dosing of DOACs through June 15, 2021. The primary efficacy outcome was ischemic stroke/system embolism (IS/SE), and primary safety outcome was major bleeding. Net clinical outcome was generally defined as the composite of IS/SE, major bleeding, and all-cause death. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs were pooled with random-effects models with Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman method for adjustment. Results: Sixteen studies with 130 609 patients were included. Compared with on-labeling dosing, off-label underdosing of DOACs was associated with a higher risk of IS/SE (HR, 1.22 [95% CI, 1.05–1.42], P =0.01). The incidence of major bleeding was similar (HR, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.82–1.11], P =0.48). Off-label underdosing was associated with a higher risk of net clinical outcome (HR, 1.19 [95% CI, 1.04–1.40], P =0.04) and all-cause death (HR, 1.24 [95% CI, 1.04–1.48], P =0.02). Stratified analysis of off-label underdosing of DOACs for IS/SE showed subgroup differences among different DOAC types and study regions. Limited data showed that off-label overdosing was associated with a higher risk of IS/SE (HR, 1.26 [95% CI, 1.11–1.43], P =0.003) and major bleeding (HR, 1.30 [95% CI, 1.04–1.62], P =0.025). Conclusions: Compared with on-label dosing, off-label underdosing of DOACs increased the risk of thromboembolic events but did not decrease the risk of bleeding. Limited data for off-label overdosing showed higher risks of thromboembolic and bleeding. Further studies are warranted to confirm the results of off-label overdosing DOACs and subgroup results of underdosing DOACs.

Author(s):  
Marco Valerio Mariani ◽  
Michele Magnocavallo ◽  
Martina Straito ◽  
Agostino Piro ◽  
Paolo Severino ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are recommended as first-line anticoagulants in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, in patients with cancer and AF the efficacy and safety of DOACs are not well established. Objective We performed a meta-analysis comparing available data regarding the efficacy and safety of DOACs vs vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in cancer patients with non-valvular AF. Methods An online search of Pubmed and EMBASE libraries (from inception to May, 1 2020) was performed, in addition to manual screening. Nine studies were considered eligible for the meta-analysis involving 46,424 DOACs users and 182,797 VKA users. Results The use of DOACs was associated with reduced risks of systemic embolism or any stroke (RR 0.65; 95% CI 0.52–0.81; p 0.001), ischemic stroke (RR 0.84; 95% CI 0.74–0.95; p 0.007) and hemorrhagic stroke (RR 0.61; 95% CI 0.52–0.71; p 0.00001) as compared to VKA group. DOAC use was associated with significantly reduced risks of major bleeding (RR 0.68; 95% CI 0.50–0.92; p 0.01) and intracranial or gastrointestinal bleeding (RR 0.64; 95% CI 0.47–0.88; p 0.006). Compared to VKA, DOACs provided a non-statistically significant risk reduction of the outcomes major bleeding or non-major clinically relevant bleeding (RR 0.94; 95% CI 0.78–1.13; p 0.50) and any bleeding (RR 0.91; 95% CI 0.78–1.06; p 0.24). Conclusions In comparison to VKA, DOACs were associated with a significant reduction of the rates of thromboembolic events and major bleeding complications in patients with AF and cancer. Further studies are needed to confirm our results.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (22) ◽  
pp. 5268
Author(s):  
Clara Bonanad ◽  
Sergio García-Blas ◽  
Javier Torres Llergo ◽  
Rosa Fernández-Olmo ◽  
Pablo Díez-Villanueva ◽  
...  

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been demonstrated to be more effective and safer than vitamin-K antagonist (VKA) for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF). This meta-analysis aims to assess the effect of DOACS vs. VKA in patients ≥ 80 and AF. Primary endpoints were stroke or systemic embolism and all-cause death. Secondary endpoints included major bleeding, intracranial bleeding, and gastrointestinal bleeding. A random-effects model was selected due to significant heterogeneity. A total of 147,067 patients from 16 studies were included, 71,913 (48.90%) treated with DOACs and 75,154 with VKA (51.10%). The stroke rate was significantly lower in DOACs group compared with warfarin group (Relative risk (RR): 0.72; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.63–0.82; p < 0.001). All-cause mortality was significantly lower in DOACs group compared with warfarin group (RR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.70–0.96; p = 0.012). Compared to warfarin, DOACs were not associated with reductions in major bleeding (RR: 0.85, 95% CI 0.69–1.04; p = 0.108) or gastrointestinal bleeding risk (RR: 1.08, 95% CI 0.76–1.53; p = 0.678) but a 43% reduction of intracranial bleeding (RR: 0.47, IC 95% 0.36–0.60; p < 0.001) was observed. Our meta-analysis demonstrates that DOACs are effective and safe with statistical superiority when compared with warfarin in octogenarians with AF.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 1166-1166
Author(s):  
Talha Aijaz ◽  
Okechukwu Nwabueze Obi ◽  
Nida Khokhar ◽  
Prasanth Lingamaneni ◽  
Muhammad Zain Farooq

Background: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACS) were recently approved for anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation for prevention of stroke and patient with venous thromboembolism (VTE) for the prevention of recurrent VTE. They have shown comparable efficacy and safety compared to vitamin K antagonist (VKA). DOACS have uniform pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics; hence, regular monitoring is not required. The morbidly obese patients may have increased volume of distribution and altered clearance which may alter the pharmacokinetics and consequently efficacy and safety of DOACS in these patients. 2016 International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis guideline recommends avoiding DOACS in a patient with body mass index (BMI) >40 kg/m2 or with body weight >120 kg due to lack of clinical trials. There is no sizeable randomized control trial to study the outcome of DOACS in morbidly obese patients, but subgroup analysis of a major randomized control trials and observational studies may provide the data on the efficacy and safety of DOACS. We intend to utilize this data in this meta-analysis to study the effectiveness and safety of DOACS in morbidly obese patients. Methods: Eligibility Criteria- Randomized control trial, observational studies including patients above 18 years with BMI>40kg/m2, body weight>120 kg and history of atrial fibrillation or VTE who are taking DOACS or warfarin for therapeutic purpose were included in the analysis. Study Selection- We searched Medline and Cochrane database. 52 studies were identified and 43 remained after removing duplicates. After assessing full text for eligibility 5 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Statistical analysis- Statistical analysis was performed with Review manager 5.3 by the Cochrane Collaboration. Forest plot was used to analyze publication bias. Heterogeneity in the studies were analyzed with Cochran Q analysis and I2 statistics. Results: Population characteristics were available in four studies. The mean age of the population ranged from 61.7 to 66.8 years, and mean BMI ranged from 44.8 to 46.7 kg/m2 . I2 analysis showed that the studies included were homogeneous, so fixed-effect model was applied. The incidence of recurrent VTE, stroke, or death ranged from 1.5% to 7.3% in DOACS compared to 1.2% to 7.9% in warfarin except in one study by Kalani et al. where it was 26% in DOACS vs. 20% in warfarin. Relative risk was 0.96 (confidence interval 0.75 - 1.28, p 0.78) indicating there was no significant difference in the primary efficacy outcome between the two groups. The incidence of major bleeding ranged from 1.5% to 4.8% in DOACS compared to 2.6% to 6.1% in warfarin. Relative risk was 0.72 (confidence interval 0.56 - 0.93, p 0.01) indicating that the risk of major bleeding was low among patient using DOACS. Conclusion: Efficacy of DOACS is similar compared to VKA when used for prevention of recurrence in VTE or prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation in the patients with BMI>40 kg/m2 or bodyweight >120 kg. There was a trend towards a lower risk of bleeding in the patients with DOACS which is similar to the risk of major bleeding reported in non-obese patients in landmark randomized clinical trials. Only two studies included the patients with VTE, and additional studies are required to assess the safety and efficacy of DOACS among morbidly obese individuals with VTE. Figure Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Mhanna ◽  
A Beran ◽  
A Al-Abdouh ◽  
O Srour ◽  
W Abdulsattar ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia, with an estimated prevalence between 1–4%. On the other hand, obesity continued to be a prevalent health issue worldwide. Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been increasingly preferred over warfarin; however, The International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis (ISTH) recommended avoiding the use of DOACs in patients with a BMI &gt;40 or weight &gt;120 kg because of limited clinical data in these patients. In this meta-analysis, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DOACs in morbidly obese patients with non-valvular AF. Method We performed a comprehensive literature search using multiple databases from database inception through January 2021, for all the studies that evaluated the efficacy and safety of DOACs in morbidly obese patients with non-valvular AF. The primary outcome of interest was stroke or systemic embolism (SSE) rate. The secondary outcome was major bleeding (MB). All meta-analyses were conducted using a random-effect model. Results A total of 10 studies including 89,494 morbidly obese patients (BMI &gt;40 or weight &gt;120 kg) with non-valvular AF on oral anticoagulation therapy (45427 on DOACs vs. 44067 on warfarin) were included in the final analysis. One included study was a randomized controlled trial (RCT), another study was a post hoc analysis of an RCT and the rest were retrospective cohort studies. The mean follow-up period was 1.8 years (range 8 months to 3.1 years). The SSE rate was significantly lower in DOACs group compared to warfarin group (odds ratio (OR): 0.71; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.62, 0.81; p&lt;0.0001; I2=0%). MB rate was also significantly lower in DOACs group compared to the warfarin group (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.46–0.78, P&lt;0.0001, I2=86%). Subgroup analysis in the rivaroxaban and apixaban AF cohort showed a statistically significant difference in SSE and MB event rates favoring both over warfarin therapy. Dabigatran showed non-inferiority to warfarin in SSE rate but superiority in the safety outcome. Conclusions Our meta-analysis demonstrated that DOACs are effective and safe when compared to warfarin in morbidly obese patients. However, more large scale randomized clinical trials are needed to further evaluate the efficacy and safety of DOACs compared to warfarin in this cohort of patients. FUNDunding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None. Stroke and systemic embolism events Major bleeding events


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Abdul Razzack ◽  
Y Sattar ◽  
S Pothuru ◽  
K Theja Reddy ◽  
K Teja Challa ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background- Bioprosthetic valve (BPV) implantation is preferred over mechanical valves for aortic and mitral valve replacement. BPV can have concurrent atrial fibrillation (AF). Primary advantage of BPV is the limited need of anticoagulation (AC) as compared to mechanical valves. However, recommendations for use of AC in BPV are not clear. Purpose We studied direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) cardiovascular efficacy and safety in BPV as compared to Vitamin K antagonist (VKA, or warfarin). Methods- Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane) were searched from inception to  November 28th, 2020. Using a generic invariance weighted fixed effects model, Hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from individual studies were converted to Log HRs and corresponding standard errors, which were then pooled. The primary outcome of interest was  stroke or systemic embolisation (SSE), major bleeding and all-cause mortality. Results- A total of four studies with 1386 participants (DOACs n = 723  ; VKA n = 656) were included in analysis. Mean age was 63.7 and 62.4 years in the DOACs and VKA group respectively. Average follow-up period was 1 year and 4 months. DOACs were more efficacious than VKAs in stroke or  thromboembolism prevention (HR 0.43, 95%CI 0.20-0.94; p = 0.03). There was no difference in efficacy of DOACs as compared to VKAs in terms of major bleeding (HR 0.60; 95% CI 0.34-1.39; p = 0.09) and all-cause mortality (HR 0.99; 95%CI 0.57-1.7; p = 0.97) (Figure 1). We had no publication bias in our results (Egger’s regression p &gt; 0.05). Conclusion- DOACs have similar mortality, and major bleeding risks as that of VKA at a benefit of higher stroke/thromboembolism prevention in patients with concurrent BPV and AF. Abstract Figure. A)SSE B)Major Bleeding C)Mortality


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Brockmeyer ◽  
Y Lin ◽  
C Parco ◽  
A Karathanos ◽  
T Krieger ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Uninterrupted anticoagulation during catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (CAAF) became standard of care after positive results of trials investigating vitamin K antagonists (VKA). Previous studies and meta-analyses of uninterrupted direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) vs. VKA have given controversial results. We thus aimed to elucidate the risks and benefits of uninterrupted DOAC vs. VKA during CAAF in an updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods Online databases were searched for RCTs comparing uninterrupted DOAC to VKA in patients undergoing CAAF until September 2019. Data from retrieved studies were analysed in a comprehensive meta-analysis. Primary safety outcome was major bleeding; primary efficacy outcome was stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Secondary outcomes included a composite of major bleeding and stroke or TIA, minor bleeding, acute cerebral lesions on magnetic resonance imaging (ACL) and mortality. Results Six eligible RCTs comprising 2,369 patients were included. Pooled meta-analysis showed no significant differences in DOAC vs. VKA concerning the rates of major bleeding (2.2% vs. 3.8%; odds ratio (OR) 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.30–1.56; p=0.37) and stroke or TIA (0.2% vs. 0.2%; OR 0.97, CI 0.20–4.72; p=0.97). There were no significant differences found in secondary outcomes (OR 0.73, p=0.49 for composite of major bleeding and stroke or TIA; OR 1.08, p=0.52 for minor bleeding; OR 1.12, p=0.59 for ACL; and OR=0.60, p=0.64 for all-cause mortality). Conclusion Our meta-analysis suggests that uninterrupted periprocedural anticoagulation with DOAC or VKA is characterized by a similar risk/benefit ratio in patients undergoing CAAF with comparable rates of major bleeding and stroke. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): Medical faculty of the Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Germany


EP Europace ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
SR Lee ◽  
EK Choi ◽  
SH Park ◽  
JH Jung ◽  
KD Han ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background In Asian patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), off-label underdosed prescriptions of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are common Purpose We aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety of off-label underdosed apixaban with on-label standard dose apixaban in Asian patients with AF. Methods Using the Korean nationwide claims database, we identified patients who prescribed apixaban and did not fulfill the dose reduction criteria of apixaban between January 2015 and December 2017. Multivariable Cox hazard regression model was performed and hazard ratios (HRs) for ischemic stroke, major bleeding (MB), all-cause death, and the composite clinical outcome were analyzed. Results Compared to patients prescribed on-label standard dose apixaban (n = 4,194), patients prescribed off-label underdosed apixaban (n = 2,890) were associated with higher risks of ischemic stroke (adjusted HR [aHR] 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-1.81), all-cause death (aHR 1.19, 95% CI 1.01-1.39) and the composite clinical outcome (aHR 1.17, 95% CI 1.03-1.34), but with no significant differences in MB between the two groups (Figure). In patients without any dose reduction criteria, off-label underdosed apixaban use was associated with a significantly higher risk of ischemic stroke than on-label standard dose apixaban use (aHR 1.85, 95% 1.25-2.73); however, in patients who had single dose reduction criteria (age ≥80 years, serum creatinine ≥1.5mg/dL, or bodyweight ≤60 kg), off-label underdosed apixaban use did not show a significant overall benefit in the composite clinical outcome compared with on-label standard dose apixaban, but was associated with a higher risk of all-cause death (aHR 1.32, 95% CI 1.07-1.64). Conclusion Off-label underdosed apixaban use was associated with higher risks of ischemic stroke, all-cause death, and composite clinical outcome and comparable risk of MB compared with on-label standard dose apixaban use. Label-adherence of apixaban dosing should be emphasized to achieve the best clinical outcome for Asian patients with non-valvular AF, especially in those without any dose reduction criteria. Abstract Figure.


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