Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants and warfarin in atrial fibrillation patients with concomitant peripheral artery disease

To investigate the effectiveness, safety, and outcomes of lower limb events for non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) vs. warfarin among atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with concomitant peripheral artery disease (PAD).

In this nationwide retrospective cohort study collected from Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, a total of 5768 and 2034 consecutive AF patients with PAD patients taking NOACs or warfarin were identified from 1 June 2012 to 31 December 2017, respectively. We used propensity score stabilized weighting to balance covariates across study groups. In the cohort, there were 89% patients were taking low-dose NOAC (dabigatran 110 mg twice daily, rivaroxaban 10–15 mg daily, apixaban 2.5 mg twice daily, or edoxaban 30 mg daily). Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant was associated with a comparable risk of ischaemic stroke, and a lower risk of acute myocardial infarction [hazard ratio (HR): 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.42–0.87; P = 0.007], lower extremity thromboembolism (HR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.44–0.72; P < 0.0001), revascularization procedure (HR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.47–0.72; P < 0.0001), lower limb amputation (HR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.23–0.46; P < 0.0001), and all major bleeding (HR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.50–0.80; P = 0.0001) than warfarin after weighting. The advantage of NOACs over warfarin persisted in high-risk subgroups including patients of ≥75 years of age, diabetes, renal impairment, or use of concomitant antiplatelet agent.

This population-based study indicated that NOACs were associated with a comparable risk of ischaemic stroke, and a significantly lower risk of major adverse limb events and major bleeding than warfarin among AF patients with concomitant PAD. Therefore, thromboprophylaxis with NOACs may be considered for such patients.