A Comparison of Dabigatran With Warfarin for Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation in an Asian Population

• Published in: Clinical and applied thrombosis/hemostasis 2016-11, Vol.22 (8), p.792-797
• Main Authors: Yap, Lok Bin, Eng, Daniel Theng Sheng, Sivalingam, Lingghesh, Rusani, Beni Isman, Umadevan, Dhanan, Muhammad, Zulkeflee, Koh, Kok Wei, Aisha, Barveen, Hashim, Mohd Irwan, Rebo, Rosila, Hussin, Azlan, Kaur, Surinder, Shanmugam, Rajasingam, Omar, Razali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Anticoagulants; Antithrombins - administration & dosage; Antithrombins - therapeutic use; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Atrial Fibrillation - drug therapy; Cardiac arrhythmia; Cohort Studies; Dabigatran - administration & dosage; Dabigatran - therapeutic use; Female; Humans; Male; Retrospective Studies; Stroke; Stroke - prevention & control; Treatment Outcome; Warfarin - adverse effects
• ISSN: 1076-0296; 1938-2723
• DOI: 10.1177/1076029615584664

Background: The Asian population with atrial fibrillation (AF) have a higher risk of stroke than the caucasian population and a higher risk of intracranial bleeding when anticoagulated with warfarin. There are few real-world studies comparing the efficacy of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) and warfarin among Asian patients to assess its outcomes of ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 1000 patients on dabigatran and warfarin from 2009 to 2013. Results: Data were available for 500 patients on dabigatran and 500 patients on warfarin. The average follow-up duration was 315 ± 280 days in the dabigatran group and 355 ± 232 in the warfarin group. The time in therapeutic range (TTR) was 53.2% in the warfarin-treated group, with 32.8% of patients in the subtherapeutic international normalized ratio range of