Rivaroxaban versus aspirin in prevention of venous thromboembolism following total joint arthroplasty or hip fracture surgery: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluates the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban versus aspirin in prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) following total hip (THA) or knee arthroplasty (TKA) or hip fracture surgery. METHODS: Major databases were systematically searched for all relevant studies published in English up to October 2020. The meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS: In total, 7 studies were retrieved which contained 5133 patients. Among these patients, 2605 patients (50.8%) received rivaroxaban, whereas 2528 patients (49.2%) received aspirin. There were no statistical difference between aspirin and rivaroxaban for reducing VTE (RR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.50–1.11, I(2) = 36%, p = 0.15), major bleeding (RR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.45–2.37, I(2) = 21%, p = 0.95), and all-cause mortality (RR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.12–6.44, I(2) = 0%, p = 0.90) between the two groups. Compared with aspirin, rivaroxaban significantly increased nonmajor bleeding (RR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.05–1.58, I(2) = 0%, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference between aspirin and rivaroxaban in prevention of venous thromboembolism following total joint arthroplasty or hip fracture surgery. Aspirin may be an effective, safe, convenient, and cheap alternative for prevention of VTE. Further large randomized studies are required to confirm these findings. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13018-021-02274-z.