Balancing Efficacy and Bleeding Risk in the Prevention of Stroke Due to Atrial Fibrillation with Newer Oral Anticoagulants

With the evaluation and approval of newer oral anticoagulants such as the factor IIa inhibitor, dabigatran etexilate and the factor Xa inhibitors, rivaroxaban and apixaban, strategies for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation need a thorough re-evaluation of current options. Clinicians are naturally excited about the imminent introduction of these newer drugs that do not need international normalized ratio (INR) monitoring, besides having no drug-food and minimal drug-drug interactions. However, as with all new drugs, it is always prudent to use these judiciously so that they stay in our therapeutic armamentarium for a long time. More than 56 years after the introduction of warfarin we now have three drugs, viz., dabigatran 150 mg bid, rivaroxaban 20 mg od, and apixaban 5 mg bid which were effective in comparison with warfarin in reducing the risk of stroke and bleeding in the landmark trials, RE-LY, ROCKET-AF, and ARISTOTLE respectively. There is a thin dividing line between physiological hemostasis and pathological thrombosis. Routine INR monitoring may not be required but in special situations, such as prior to major surgery, overdose, non-compliance or stroke while on the anticoagulant, one may wish to know whether there are any laboratory measures of efficacy or means of reversal of over anticoagulation. Similar questions may be raised about other situations such as renal dysfunction, cardioversion, ablation procedures, post-stenting, or switch to and from warfarin, heparin or LMWH? This document is an attempt to address these concerns based on available evidence and give physicians a perspective and practice guidelines on how best to use these agents, both old and new, for optimal patient outcomes, maximizing efficacy and minimizing risk.