Efficacy of 11 anticoagulants for the prevention of venous thromboembolism after total hip or knee arthroplasty: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

To systematically review the efficacy of 11 anticoagulants in the treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after total hip or knee arthroplasty. METHODS: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, VIP, and China Biology Medicine databases were electronically searched for studies assessing the efficacy of different anticoagulants for the prevention of VTE after total hip or knee arthroplasty from January 1, 2010, to January 27, 2022. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and graded the evidence using Confidence in Network Meta-Analysis. The network meta-analysis was then performed using Stata 16.0 software and R 4.1.0 software. RESULTS: A total of 61 articles were included. The results of network meta-analysis showed that apixaban, edoxaban, fondaparinux, rivaroxaban, and darexaban were the most effective anticoagulants for the prevention of deep vein thrombosis in patients undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty (P < .05), while there was no difference in the efficacy among the anticoagulants for the prevention of pulmonary embolism (P > .05). CONCLUSION: Apixaban, edoxaban, fondaparinux, rivaroxaban, and darexaban have the best efficacy for the prevention of VTE after total hip or knee arthroplasty.