Rivaroxaban versus warfarin in Chinese elder diabetic patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation: A retrospective study on the effectiveness and associated risks (EAR) analysis

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and associated risks of rivaroxaban against warfarin in Chinese elderly diabetic patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Methods: Data regarding demographical characteristics, clinical conditions, ischemic stroke, intracranial bleeding, gastrointestinal tract bleeding, myocardial infractions, hip/pelvic fracture, asthma, breast/prostate cancer, and death during 3-years of treatment of 584 Chinese diabetic patients with confirmed non-valvular atrial fibrillation who were placed on rivaroxaban (RX Cohort, n = 201) or warfarin (WF Cohort, n = 383) were collected from hospital records and analyzed. Multivariate analysis was performed for the prediction of the incidence of the treatment-emergent event(s). Results: During the 3-year treatment period, higher numbers of patients were reported for intracranial bleeding (p = 0.042), ischemic stroke (p = 0.042), gastrointestinal bleeding (p = 0.0006), hip/pelvic fracture (p = 0.042), and asthma (p = 0.0007) in WF cohort than RX cohort. Also, higher mortality was reported in WF cohort than for RX cohort (24 vs. 4, p = 0.024). Female sex (p = 0.031), age (p = 0.035), and comorbidities (p = 0.021) were associated with incidence of treatment-emergent event(s). Conclusion: With rivaroxaban, a significant and safe risk-reduction of thromboembolic events are found in elderly diabetic patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.