Effectiveness and safety of direct oral anticoagulants versus warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation and advanced kidney disease

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness and safety of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and advanced kidney disease (AKD) has not been fully established. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness and safety related to pooled or specific DOACs to that with warfarin in patients with AF and AKD. METHODS: Patients with AF and AKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate < 30 mL/min) who received DOAC or warfarin from July 2011 to December 2020 were retrospectively identified in a medical center in Taiwan. Primary outcomes were hospitalized for stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding. Secondary outcomes included any ischemia and any bleeding. RESULTS: A total of 1,011 patients were recruited, of whom 809 (80.0%) were in the DOACs group (15.3% dabigatran, 25.4% rivaroxaban, 25.2% apixaban, and 14.1% edoxaban), and 202 (20.0%) in the warfarin group. DOACs had considerably lower risks of stroke/systemic embolism (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.29; 95% CI, 0.09–0.97) and any ischemia (aHR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.22–0.79), but had comparable risks of major bleeding (aHR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.34–2.92) and any bleeding (aHR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.50–1.09) than warfarin. Apixaban was linked to considerably lower risks of any ischemia (aHR, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.04–0.48) and any bleeding (aHR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.28–0.99) than warfarin. CONCLUSION: Among patients with AF and AKD, DOACs were linked to a lower risk of ischemic events, and apixaban was linked to a lower risk of any ischemia and any bleeding than warfarin. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11239-023-02859-x.