Bleeding and thromboembolism due to drug-drug interactions with non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants—a Swedish, register-based cohort study in atrial fibrillation outpatients

PURPOSE: To study the association between interacting drugs and bleeding or thromboembolism in atrial fibrillation outpatients treated with non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs). METHODS: Population-based cohort study of outpatients treated with NOACs in Sweden from 2008 to 2017. Patients with atrial fibrillation and newly initiated NOAC treatment were identified in the Prescribed Drug Register. Comorbidities and outcome data were retrieved from the Patient Register and the Cause of Death Register. Cox-regression analyses were performed to evaluate the primary endpoints any severe bleed and ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack/stroke unspecified during the first six months of treatment. Secondary endpoints were gastrointestinal bleeding, intracranial bleeding, ischemic stroke, and venous thromboembolism. RESULTS: Increased risk of any severe bleed was found when NOAC treatment, and drugs with pharmacodynamic effect on bleeding were combined, compared to NOAC only. An increased risk with these combinations was evident for apixaban (hazard ratio (HR) 1.47; 95% CI 1.33–1.63), rivaroxaban (HR 1.7; 95% CI 1.49–1.92), and dabigatran (HR 1.26; 95% CI 1.05–1.52). For apixaban, there was an increased risk of any severe bleed when combined with CYP3A4 and/or P-glycoprotein (P-gp) inhibitors (HR 1.23; 95% CI 1.01–1.5). The use of inducers of CYP3A4 and/or P-gp was low in this cohort, and effects on ischemic stroke/TIA/stroke unspecified could not be established. CONCLUSION: Increased risk of bleeding was seen for pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions with NOACs. Prescribers need to be vigilant of the effect of interacting drugs on the risk profile of patients treated with NOACs. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00228-020-03015-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.