Novel Oral Anticoagulants – Do Real-world Data Support our Expectations?

Abstract

During the last 10 years, four novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs; dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban) were introduced as an alternative to vitamin K antagonists (VKAs; e.g. warfarin), which have been the gold standard for oral anticoagulation for many decades. Atrial fibrillation is one of the most important reasons for an ischaemic stroke. Considering the high lifetime prevalence of atrial fibrillation, a significant proportion of the population will have the indication for oral anticoagulation in order to prevent strokes. Randomised controlled trials comparing NOACs to the gold-standard VKAs have been performed and published with convincing results. Additionally, real-world data from observational and retrospective studies have been released to see whether they meet our expectations of NOACs and which further challenges, concerning individualisation for special patient groups and high-risk collectives, arise.Copyright © 2019, Touch Medical Media.