CardioExchange Archive

November 2nd, 2010

Is Dabigatran More Cost-Effective Than Warfarin in AF?

Amy Herman

Dabigatran, newly approved by the FDA to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), might turn out to be a cost-effective alternative to warfarin, according to an Annals of Internal Medicine study. Using data from the RE-LY trial, James Freeman and colleagues modeled the quality-adjusted survival and cost-effectiveness of dabigatran compared with high- or low-dose warfarin […]

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November 1st, 2010

ROCKET AF: Is Rivaroxaban Ready for Blast Off?

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM

With the approval of dabigatran and now the preliminary and partial results of ROCKET AF, we’ll  need to be familiar with much more than just warfarin to address the anticoagulation needs of our patients. The early word on ROCKET AF, which will be presented at AHA, is that rivaroxaban is at least as effective as warfarin […]

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November 1st, 2010

Rivaroxaban Equals Warfarin in ROCKET AF

Larry Husten, PHD

Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) was as effective as warfarin in patients with AF in the ROCKET AF study, according to an announcement released by Bayer on Sunday ahead of the  trial’s scheduled presentation at the AHA on November 15. ROCKET AF randomized more than 14,000 patients with nonvalvular AF to either rivaroxaban or warfarin. The goal of the […]

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October 22nd, 2010

Warfarin or Dabigatran? The Thick and Thin of Deciding on an Anticoagulant

Anju Nohria, MD

These four patients are receiving chronic anticoagulation therapy. Read the descriptions of their cases and decide which, if any, of them you would switch to dabigatran.   Case 1  A 69-year-old man with a history of hypertension and colon cancer was found to be in atrial fibrillation during a preoperative assessment for colon resection. Metoprolol was […]

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October 21st, 2010

INR Home Testing Found Comparable to Point-of-Care Testing

Larry Husten, PHD

Weekly INR self-testing at home is comparable to monthly point-of-care testing, according to results of THINRS (the Home International Normalized Ratio Study), published in the New England Journal of Medicine. David Matchar and colleagues found no difference in the incidence of stroke, major bleeding episode, or death in the 2922 patients taking warfarin who were randomized to […]

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